Star Vs the Forces of Evil Season 3B: The Butterfly Saga
by Scarlet Crusader 26
Summary: When the rug is pulled from under your feet, it can be hard to recover. Star begins to question everything she thought she knew. With the help of her friends, she tries to sort everything out, and is forced to defend her kingdom once more. Set after 'Stump Day'.
1. Episode 15A: Family Tree

_Hello there! This is the first chapter of my Season 3B fanfiction. It picks up a week or so after the events of 'Stump Day'. This story will be released in an AB episode format. For example, 'Sweet Dreams' is 10A, 'Lava Lake Beach' is 10B. There will be 8 of these or a total of 16 chapters. It will be quite canon divergent, as I came up with this before Season 3B aired, but there will be some similarities. This is my attempt at balancing shipping/character development and plot. I will try and update weekly. Enjoy!_

There was a winter chill in the air on Mewni. The feeling of familiar January cold washed over the five shivering teenagers outside, not that they cared

Marco Diaz was wearing his hood, something that was very unusual for him. His teeth were chattering, as he finally decided to speak up. "S-Star when you said you wanted to explore the library for information on your family history, I thought you meant at the library in the castle! Ya know, the nice warm, toasty castle!"

The girl in question dismissed his concerns with a wave of her hand. "Pfft relax Marco, we're here anyway." Star had enlisted the help of her friends to dig up more of her family history. After the bomb dropped at the disastrous party, she had more than a few questions, that she wasn't confident her mother would answer truthfully. Star still hadn't brought up her revelation to her parents.

Tom seemed to sense her worry because he grabbed her hand and squeezed it in comfort. She smiled at the gesture. He was so sweet. Tom really had changed for the better.

The moment was interrupted by Marco clearing his throat loudly, more than once. Pony Head looked over to Marco in confusion. "Okay, what Earth Turd?"

Marco frowned at the old nickname and was about to speak when he was cut off by someone else.

"I think Marco wants to know where we are and when we're going in", Janna said making her presence known. Kelly was shivering next to her.

"This is the Library of Secrets. It's the center of all knowledge on Mewni. Anything you need to know, history, the secrets of the universe, the latest fashion trends, it's all here."

Marco blinked. They came all this way to go to what sounded like a glorified public library. But he knew better than that. What Star learned at the party, stunned her. All she had wanted was to unite Mewmans and Monsters and she had learned her family had a secret that had been kept hidden for hundreds of years. She was questioning everything and came here for answers. If it was important to her, it was important to him.

Star entered first, the others in tow. What she was looking for, it had to be here. Information on Meteora was probably censored or removed from all other libraries, but here- it had to be different.

Inside the the library was gigantic. The building had a velvet carpet that stretched across the entire room. The ceiling was high, allowing for rows and rows of tall bookcases to be packed in, as far as the eye could see. All the children were in awe of the library's size.

Janna smirked. "I just found a new place to get my books on necromancy."

Pony Head looked over at Star. "What now B-Fly?" She knew her friend was going through some heavy stuff so she decided to at least try and be more serious. Well at least by her standards.

Before Star could speak, the group was approached by someone. It was a short, pudgy woman. She had long gray hair and emerald green eyes. She wore thick rimmed reading glasses that seemed to enlargen her eyes. She looked like your stereotypical librarian.

The woman looked dumbfounded at seeing them. "P -Princess Star Butterfly? What are you doing here?"

Star laughed nervously. "What? A princess can't come and visit the library from time to time?"

The old woman had tears in her eyes. Marco backed up a bit, slight uncomfortable with the display.

Tom looked at her with slight concern. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, wiping her eyes. "It's just, no one ever comes to the library! I'm so happy to see you young people taking the initiative and coming out here and-"

"Mhm, mhm sure lady. Now where's the info on the Butterfly family tree?", Pony Head said, growing impatient.

Marco and Kelly both facepalmed at her bluntness. The lady raised an eyebrow.

"That information is restricted. Off limits to everyone. If I may ask, why the sudden interest?"

Star again laughed nervously. So far, this was not going well. "Um well I-" She tried to think of something on the fly. Lying had never been her strong suit. "Like studying dead people." She flinched at how creepy that sounded. Janna gave her a thumbs up in approval.

"Hmm interesting but I am afraid I cannot grant you entry, sorry Princess. You and your friends are free to browse however. I am Ms. Roseweather but you can call me Greta! Let me know if you need anything!" She skipped away happily, still glad to have visitors

"Man we've gotta get that woman a hobby", Marco muttered. He had his hands in his pockets.

Star turned to the group. "All right guys. Let's split up, we'll cover more ground that way."

"I'll go with Star.", Marco and Tom said in unison. For a while, there was a thick, awkward silence that hung in the air. It was the boys way of seeing who would blink first. While the two had made up after the fight on Stump Day, there was still a small level of hostility present.

Finally, Marco relented . "Oh sorry Tom, you go with Star. I'll go with-"

"Me." Kelly finished for him without hesitation. This caused Janna to look at her with a smug expression.

Tom nodded. "Now that we've got that figured out, let's go. If you find anything, just scream. In a library, like that's normal." He took Star's hand and they walked toward the back of the library. Janna and Pony Head went to the right and Marco and Kelly went into the left. They six had a lot of ground to cover.

Pony Head couldn't hold back her snicker as she and Janna looked around at the unrelated subjects. "Man does Kelly have it bad for Earth Turd or what!?"

Janna nodded. "I'm glad someone noticed. Marco never notices things like that."

"Well duh. That's why he's Earth Turd, so oblivious.", Pony Head said as she checked a bookcase. Janna did the same.

"Ugh, we're gonna be here forever!"

Star and Tom were looking around a large bookcase, having no luck in finding anything. Tom chuckled as he saw some of the strange topics.

"What to Do If You're a Vampire in the Daylight, Mewman Squirrel Picture Book."

Star said nothing, just continued to look for stuff on her family. She had to focus, she couldn't afford distractions.

Tom was confused with her lack of response and frankly a little concerned. "Come on Starship, you love this stuff. What's wrong?"

Star looked at him as if he had grown another head. "What's wrong!? Tom, I told you what happened at the party. I don't even know my own family anymore. If Meteora is Eclipsa's daughter, how do I know if Mom's side of the family is legit? Am I a fraud?"

Tom looked down. She sounded hysterical, distraught. He didn't know what to do, how to comfort her. What do you say to someone who had their world ripped out from under them?

Star punched a bookcase in frustration. "Ah! We'll never find it. Everything is probably locked up in some restricted case or something somewhere!"

Tom put a hand on her shoulder. "Star..."

Suddenly, a bookshelf began to shift and turn after a particular book was moved. The book shelf moved to the side, like a revolving door. It revealed an old stone door, with a huge lock on it. Star's eyes widened and she felt an involuntary smile form on her lips.

"Bingo.", she said, walking up to the door. Tom followed her.

"How do we open it?"

Something was glowing on the door, words. Star wiped away the accumulated dust and it hit Tom in the face. He began coughing uncontrollably.

Star looked back at him with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. What does it say?"

Star took out her wand and began to read. She then noticed something. "These words, they weren't meant to be here, they were roughly carved in."

"Which means someone left this for someone else to find." Tom inquired.

Star nodded and began reading. " Ignorance is for the weak. So give to me the knowledge I seek and allow me to sneak a peak." The wand glowed as the lock broke off the door and it opened.

Star walked inside. There was a stack of books on a desk, face down. Star walked over to the desk, her wand illuminating the dark room. There on a map of old parchment, was the Butterfly Family Tree. Star picked it up, frantically searching for Eclipsa. Sure enough, Eclipsa had married twice. Once to a Mewman named, Alexander Demeek and a monster named...Nirobus. Finally some answers? The princess sighed with relief, she wasn't a fraud. Meteora had an older sister, her ancestor Festivia. At

Star was in disbelief. "So my line is legit, but so is Meteora's."

Tom didn't say anything, he just stood at her side. It was good seeing Star ease up a bit, now that she knew her bloodline was true. She haspd so ,uch on her plste recently and things just seemed to be piling up. He wsnted to help any wsy he could, snything she needed him to do. Maybe then, things betwrrn them could ge likr they were doing the summer. Just the two of them, no worries, no Eclipsa, no Heinous, not as much _Marco._ It wasn't that Tom wasn't glad he got to see his friend more often, it was just that the problems in he and Star's relationship started arising after he moved to Mewni. He spent so much time around her, and while he trusted the both of them, something about that rubbed him the wrong way. The fact that Star used to have a crush on him didn't exactly put his mind at ease either.

A sudden viice interrupted their discovery." What are you doing in here?"

Star whipped her head around, only to see Greta at the doorway, tears in her eyes.

Star hid the document behind her back. "Greta! I can explain-"

"You betrayed me! You gazed upon the forbidden texts! Now you must be destroyed!" Her arm extended into claws and she charged at them.

Star drew her wand. "Narwhal Blast!"

Marco and Kelly had been looking around elsewhere for quite some time. Kelly was a pretty cool girl and it was nice to have someone to talk to in spite of...recent events.

"Tad still hanging around?" He asked, remembering seeing him on Stump Day.

"Eh he comes and goes. I'm letting him stay until he can find his own place."

The boy nodded in understanding. Kelly and Tad broken up for the last time recently, pretty close to when Jackie broke up with him. There was a mutual bond, an understanding between them, two heartbroken kids, although it wasn't the breakup that was the source of Marco's pain.

Kelly bashfully tucked some of her long hair behind her ear. She broke the comfortable silence. "Marco I-" She was cut off by the sound of a blast or something like it.

It was a sound Marco recognized almost instantly. He had heard it thousands of times. It was the sound of Star's wand.

"STAR!", Marco yelled, running off towards the sound. She had to be in trouble. The rapid sounding blasts of her wand signaled that.

Kelly chased after him. "Marco! Wait up!"

Marco ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Please be okay, please be okay. She had Tom with her but that didn't easy his worry much. He had that drive to save her, the same one he had when she got stuck in that weird dimension with the unicorns. The Latino was so out of it, he ran right into Janna.

"Ow! Watch it would ya?", she said, rubbing her head.

Marco pushed himself up and looked at Janna and Pony Head. "Where's Star?

"We don't know, we were on our way to look for her!", Pony Head exclaimed. "B-FLY!", she called out to her best friend. Her cries seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Suddenly Star and Tom came running towards them, panting and out of breath. Marco let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. She was alright, he could breathe easy.

Kelly looked at the pair. "What are you running from?"

"It's Greta! She-"

The once sweet librarian came charging at them. Her head still looked normal. The rest of her body however, was something out of a nightmare. It seemed to be the body of a wolf, furry and black. Her hands were claws, long and sharp as swords. The six teenagers ran through the rows of bookshelves, trying not to get lost in the perpetual labyrinth. No one dared look back, for fear of how close she was.

Marco looked back and saw she was gaining. "We gotta get out of here!"

Greta clawed at them, while screeching. Star ducked but a bookcase began to fall. She knew they didn't have a chance of out running the falling case. "Everyone grab on!", she ordered.

Marco grabbed on to her by the waist, Tom grabbed onto his shoulders, Kelly did the same, followed by Janna and Pony Head grabbed onto her shirt with her teeth.

"Fantastic Exit Beam!" Star shot the spell and the group began moving backwards rapidly. Greta knocked down another bookcase behind them, causing them to ram into it. Star dropped her wand and the tree, which floated back into the middle of the floor. Star was not going to let it go, after everything she went through to get it. Everything she went through to learn her family's shameful secret. She ran out in front of Greta to get it.

"STAR!", Marco and Tom yelled in unison again. Both boys got up and rushed to aid her. Neither could believe how reckless she was being.

Star dived under the outstretched claw of Greta, narrowly missing getting stabbed in the head. She grabbed the paper and tried to get to her feet.

Greta had her cornered. Star was trapped against a bookcase, with a dead end, no way out.

No, no, no, no, Marco thought. The boy was out of options. Star couldn't- the very thought of losing her made him sick to his stomach. It was the same feeling of helplessness and fear that overcame him when she was trapped after sleep-portaling. Whatever this feeling was, he didn't like it. It was powerful, it was empty, it was saddening, yet empowering. Empowering, that was it.

"Return what you took deary and I won't rip out your organs," Greta said both sweetly and sinisterly.

"Never!", Star said defiantly.

Greta barreled towards her, claws raised, ready to strike. Star felt her heartbeat quicken. She didn't have enough time to move. The girl was a goner. It was fitting how she would die, breaking the rules, like the rebel code she had always lived by.

RAINBOW FIST PUNCH!" In a flash of colors Greta was knocked into the back wall. Star looked up to see Marco, holding his version of her wand, his cheeks clad with glowing yellow crescent moons. The boy had imitated the spell he had seen Star use over and over. "Tom, now!" Just as Greta got up, Tom shot a fireball at a bookcase, knocking it over on top of her back, with a loud crash. It was poetic irony in a way, the librarian done in by books.

Marco tossed Star her wand back, which faded back to normal upon her touch, just as Marco's cheek marks faded. The group took the opportunity to escape, bolting out of the library door. The freezing Mewni air hit them in the face, not that they cared.

Pony Head was panting and out of breath. "Is everyone okay?"

Kelly nodded. "I think so."

Janna groaned. "Stuff like this, this is why the internet was invented."

The group let out a collective chuckle. Star had the family tree, clutched tightly in her hand, she turned towards Marco, wearing a dazzling smile. She ran towards him, her eyes shining. Those beautiful ocean blue orbs, he had grown to love staring into. Like the sea, it was so easy to get lost in them. Marco had been in this situation before a million times before, he spread his arms and closed his eyes, bracing for the coming hug, a hug that never came. He didn't feel Star's familiar warmth and opened his eyes, confused. He turned around and his eyes widened, Star had ran right past him and launched herself at Tom, pulling him into a tight embrace.

Marco stood there for a moment, not blinking. The boy's hands balled up into fists. A few months ago, that would have been him. What had changed? It certainly wasn't Marco. He felt anger, at Tom AND Star. Tom took away HIS Star from him. Wait did he just call Star his? What was going on with him? The blistering anger fizzled out and was soon replaced with that sinking feeling he felt when he ran away from Tad and Kelly at Lava Lake Beach, what he should have realized all along, when he saw them kiss. Marco bit his tongue. Star was happy now, who was he to ruin that? Especially since she had to suffer seeing him with Jackie. Things really did come gack full circle didn't they?

Pony Head soon cleared her throat and Tom and Star let go of eachother, both blushing. As the group began the walk back to the castle, Star grabbed Tom's right hand, carrying the family tree in her left. Pony Head and Kelly were chatting excitedly behind them, while Marco hung out in the back with the same crestfallen expression on his face. This went unnoticed by everyone, except one. Tom and Star were far too preoccupied by each other to notice, neither Pony Head or Kelly had known Marco long enough to read the expression, only one person could. Janna had known Marco since they were little and recognized the look instantly. Jackie had never told her exactly why she and Marco split, but how she knew. For once she decided to leave the Latino alone, which would be a mistake in the long run.

Star sighed happily, content. There was still anxiety about her family, yes but she had at least found the truth. Everyone had made it out of the library by the skin of their teeth. Thanks to Marco's mysterious magical abilities once again. She'd have to look into that. She gripped Tom's hand tightly, enjoying the feeling. Speaking of Marco, she looked back to check on him, he seemed a little shaken up, but alright. He caught her eye and gave her a small smile. Something told her to go talk to him, but she shrugged it off, deciding to put it off for later.


	2. Episode 15B: Lunar Eclipse

**Review Corner**

 **Jayson - Master of Storm- Thanks so much! And yes, they are this story's versions of Shastacan and Globgor, as this was written before both name drops. More will be revealed about the both of them later.**

 **allen Vth- While I cannot confirm or deny that Marco will become a villian, it is highly likely that that line was foreshadowing for something. I wanted to include as my characters as possible here, especially those who didn't get as much screen time as l would like, (namely Janna) and she will definitely be back.**

 **Tom's insecurities are very real as you said, I think "Is Another Mystery" did a great job showing that as well.**

 **I wanted to elaborate on Kelly's feelings here, as there seemed to be something there. But in this starmap of love triangle, someone is bound to end up heartbroken.**

 **Thanks for the kind words! I hope you enjoy what I have planned.**

 **Useful76- Thank you. While I will not spoil, the best way to describe Marco's current state, is vulnerable.**

 **Guest- Star definitely has not been treating either of them as well as she should, and I can see your point. But she has her reasons, and soon those reasons will be clear.**

 **WolfieDoofus- Eyy man! Nice to see you here! Thanks for the kind words, really appreciate it!**

 **Ey guys, Crusader here with a couple quick notes. As you guys can see, I will begin responding to reviews, so feel free to leave your thoughts. In addition, I will be including a synopsis for the next episode at the end of each chapter. Alright, enough stalling, here's episode 15B!**

"GLOSSARYK ,NO," Marco exclaimed as he sprinted through the hallways. The red hoodied boy had been chasing him all morning. He knew exactly where he was heading next as well, Star's room. Marco had promised her that he'd keep Glossaryk out of her way while she studied the family tree she'd found at the Library of Secrets. That was all she'd been doing lately, studying and taking notes. Between all this stuff with Meteora and Eclipsa and trying to fix all the societal racism between Mewmans and Monsters, she had a lot to juggle right now. He wished that she'd let him help her, this was a lot, even for someone as amazing as Star to juggle alone. But he'd help in any way he could, and if that meant chasing after Glossaryk all morning, he'd do it.

"GLOBGOR," the little blue man didn't relent and took a sharp left turn down the hallway, on all fours.

"Oh no you don't." Marco followed right after him, sprinting to catch up. He reached down with his left hand, trying to grab him.

"GLOBGOR, GLOBGOR!" Glossaryk was just out of his reach.

Marco groaned in annoyance. He almost had him, just a little bit further. He stretched his arm out all the way out as they approached Star's room. Unfortunately, Marco failed to notice a bunch in the rug in the hallway.

"I...got ya! Woahhh" Marco said as tripped. He tried desperately to stop his fall, trying to balance on the balls of his feet. Eventually, he fell and dived after Glossaryk, in a last ditch attempt to catch him. Glossaryk jumped and ran into Star's room and Marco hit his head hard, against the wall.

He got up slowly, rubbing his head. Oh he was going to get an earfull now. Star wasn't going to be happy about this, not one bit.

When he got to his feet, he was face to face with his best friend. Star was at the door, Glossaryk in her hands. The usually bubbly, happy girl wore a glare. Her blue eyes were tired, and had the tiniest bags beginning to form under them. Her blonde hair was messy, leaving Marco to wonder just how long she had been up.

Star took a deep breath. She had asked Marco to keep an eye on Glossaryk so she could study in peace. Ever since she found her family tree in the Library of Secrets, she'd been trying to trace back the Butterfly line and find something on all the queens of Mewni's past. Not to mention trying to schedule another party between the Mewmans and Monsters proved to be difficult, thanks to Mina's shenanigans. Rich Pigeon wasn't willing to sponsor another party after the last one ended in disaster. This was all too much for her to handle, she needed time to think about it all in peace and she couldn't do that with a dumbed down Glossaryk around.

"Marco, you were supposed to keep Glossaryk out of here!"

The boy flinched little at the bitterness in her tone but stood his ground. "Star, I'm sorry he just-"

She rolled her eyes, not caring for his soon to be excuse. "You're my squire Marco. I have to be sale to trust you to do certain tasks. You had one job, and that was to watch Glossaryk. Agh! First all that business with Heckapoo and now this, what is going on with you?"

He felt himself growing angry. He had told her he was closing her portals with Heckapoo. Why was she still bringing that up? He was trying to do her a favor by cleaning up her mess, as usual. Woah there Diaz, calm down. Marco shook himself out of these thoughts. He didn't want to make the situation any worse than it already was, so he bit his tongue. Star was only saying all this because she was stressed, right?

"Uh sorry, it won't happen again," He said.

"Good. Now you, Glossaryk, out, now." She roughly handed him Glossaryk, practically shoving him into his chest. Star closed the door without another word, leaving Marco alone with his thoughts.

"Come on Gloss, we're gonna go for a little walk." He turned around and back through the wehallway, trying to get as far away from there as possible.

* * *

"I just don't understand why she's acting like this! I mean we're still best friends, right? She's just been acting really weird since I came back. It's like sometimes she wants me to be here, then she doesn't, I dunno. What do you think Gloss?"

Glossaryk stared at the Latino and tilted his head like a confused puppy.

Marco sighed. "I really can't believe I'm saying this but I miss when you were sentient." That was really saying something. Despite all the cryptic and vague advice, bribes for pudding and his general carefree and nonchalant attitude towards everyone but himself, Glossaryk had his moments. And he'd at least offer Marco some extremely vague advice on what to do, at least that was something.

For the past hour he had been venting his built up frustration. Their walk had stretched across the castle and they know found themselves outside. It was like trying to hold a conversation with a laser puppy. Sure they'd listen, but wouldn't understand.

"I wanna be there for her, I really do but I can't if she won't let me," Marco said, absent-mindedly petting Glossaryk.

Suddenly, the little guy hopped out of his hands, onto the ground. "Globgor?" He asked, as if trying to confirm something. He seemingly did, as he ran off.

"I knew I should have brought the leash," Marco said facepalming. He was getting tired of chasing him around. He hurried after Glossaryk, trying not to lose sight of him. How was someone with such short legs so fast?

He lagged behind him for quite some time, not able to catch up. Marco momentarily lost sight of Glossaryk. The chase had spanned the castle grounds.

"Ugh! Where did you- oh no." He stopped mid question when realized where Glossaryk was. He had ran out, right into the knight's target practice. Was the universe actually out to get him today? Alright Diaz, one you, eight specially trained elite knights with bows, what could go wrong? He took a deep breath and charged into the fray.

He ducked to avoid the arrows that all hit their mark. He silently celebrated his luck. Maybe things weren't so bad after all. Woosh! An arrow whizzed past his head, touching a single hair on his head. He turned around to face the knight who released late.

"Dude what the heck!?"

The knight nodded. "Yep, aim needs work, I know. You don't have to be so rude about it, I'm trying here!"

Marco once again caught sight of Glossaryk. He chased after him desperately, trying to keep him in his line of sight. Glossaryk suddenly made a sharp left, something that Marco couldn't replicate. He tripped and fell into a muddy puddle, getting himself drenched. He groaned in annoyance.

"Oh this is digus-AHH WET SOCKS!"

He bounced up to his feet. He was covered in wet, cold , disgusting mud but he really only cared about the socks. The torture that was wet socks was so inhumane it should never be used on anyone. Marco jogged ahead, only to see that Glossaryk had stopped at the entrance to the Rose Garden. What now?

"What is it boy?" He asked curiously.

Glossaryk began to slowly approach the entrance. He seemed to be apprehensive about going in.

" Is someone in there?"

"Globgor." His answer seemed to be confirmation.

Marco got into his karate stance. He had to be prepared for anything. Mina, Meteora or any other enemy of there's. As they entered, Marco felt his heart begin to race. He could take whoever this was without Star, right? Red belt or not, they had some powerful enemies. The garden was live with blooming roses and flowers. Somehow the Mewman winter had no effect on the growth of the plants. Probably some magic thing or something. Marco spotted the old condemned tower, sticking out like a sore thumb in the beautiful garden.

"You are really fond of that sword hand dance, aren't you?" A voice said from behind Marco and Glossaryk.

Marco turned around, ready to attack whoever said it. However he wasn't prepared at all for what he saw.

* * *

"Eclipsa!?"

Glossaryk ran over to the queen, jumping into her arms. She smiled and pet him, causing him to nuzzle her. She turned her attention back to Marco. Unlike last time he'd seen her, her long teal hair was visable. She looked like a combination of a Goth and your stereotypical queen, with her long black dress. Her almost purple eyes sparkled with mishief, not unlike the looks Star sometimes had. She grinned at the boy.

"Yes, hello. Marco was it?"

He circled her, still in his stance. "That's right. Now stay away from me, you don't know what I'm capable of." Marco tried to sound intimidating, but failed miserably.

Eclipsa chuckled. "Are you sure? Because I think you don't know what I'm capable of, is that not why you're afraid?"

Marco blinked. She had him there. "I-I'm not afraid of you! I just don't trust you."

She took a step toward him. "Oh! Aren't you adorable?"

"I know karate lady! Stay back!"

Eclipsa took another step forward. He instinctively backed up. "Boo!", she exclaimed trying to scare him.

"Ahh!" He let out a yelp and flinched .

She full on laughed this time and walked over to the bench, sitting down. Glossaryk ran out of her hands and scurried up to her shoulders. The little blue man curled into her. "I mean you no harm dear. Just having a little fun."

She isn't dangerous Diaz, he thought. Star had told him that she really wasn't evil and had helped her out with Glossaryk before. Of course he trusted her, but for some reason Eclipsa still unsettled him. Was it because she had dabbled in dark magic, which was something that Marco didn't understand? Was it the fact that Queen Moon and the High Commission distrusted her? Or was it because she seemed hard to read, almost impossible to tell what she was up to? Whatever it was, it made him want to keep his distance.

"Alright, well if you'd just give me back Glossaryk, I'll be on my way."

Eclipsa raised an eyebrow. "What's the rush? It's a beautiful day out here, wouldn't you say?"

He shrugged at the attempt at smalltalk. "Yeah I guess. Now could you-"

"You look filthy. Seems you had quite the day, hm?"

She seemingly just took notice of how dirty the boy was. His hoodie was stained with what he hoped was mud. You couldn't be sure in a place like Mewni. Much to his annoyance, his socks were still wet.

"I was just watching Glossaryk for Star, that's all. I had to chase him around a bit. I fell into some mud."

Eclipsa once again approached him, and Marco suddenly became conscious of the fact that she wasn't chained to anything. How had she slipped out of the tower so easily, without alerting guards?

"So this is for Star hm? Tell me Marco, how was your life on Earth?"

The boy in question blinked. Why was she asking all this? He was unsure if he should answer, though something told him that it would cause no harm.

"It was great. I had my parents, great friends, was dating girl of my dreams." He said the last part regretfull, as if it wasn't true.

Eclipsa seemed not to pick up on it. "Why did you leave it all behind then dear?"

That fateful day, the date, the pier. It all came flooding back to him. Everything seemed so perfect, Marco felt at home with Jackie.

[I] We both know that's not true, she had said. He'd been thinking about that sentence for weeks now. It still left that hallow feeling within him. It broke his heart, not because she believed that, but because it was true. He'd hurt her without realizing it, because he couldn't let go of his adventurous summer, of Mewni, of Star.

"After being here for a while, it was hard to readjust. My heart wasn't there anymore, and everyone could see it."

She seemed amused by the statement. "What's her name?"

Marco had to fight the blush that was coming to his cheeks. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Whatever you say dear."

"Will you just give me back Glossaryk!" His frustration was showing now. He already wasn't having a good day. He didn't need to be probed with questions by a queen under tower arrest.

She smirked, in a way not unlike Star. "Marco you remind me of someone I used to know."

"And how's that?" The Latino was curious now. Just what did she think of him?

"Your own happiness is a second priority. You gave up your almost perfect life on Earth, leaving your family and friends behind to come back here only to not receive a very warm welcome. I hear the knights whisper about you, about how they think you were handed this position because of your relationship with the royal family. Upon your return, Star tried to confine you to the basement. Yet here you are, working hard, chasing around Glossaryk, getting scrapes and bruises and covered in mud. And all for who?"

He stepped back and shook his head. That couldn't be true. Of course he was doing this for Star. She was his best friend. But was he her's? Ever since his return to Mewni, she had been sending mixed signals. Early on, she seemed to be trying to distance herself from him. That was understandable, she said she just needed to focus on being a better princess for her people. Then she made him her squire so they could hang out like they used to, before all the craziness with Toffee. At times however, it seemed like she didn't want him to be anything more than her squire, such as when he tried to help her when she was sleep-portaling and the disastrous experience that was Lava Lake. At other times she was sweet to him, like when she supported hi, during the Blowout Sale or after he saved her from that weird dimension with the unicorns.

He finally found the words for his answer. " She hasn't been the nicest to me since I got here, but I'm still going to do everything to help her."

Eclipsa was sitting down on the bench now. "Why? You're making yourself miserable. Do you know why I abandoned my role as queen?"

"To marry your true love?" That was what everyone said she did. And her true love just so happened to be a monster. Not that it was a big deal to him.

"Well yes. But being a queen is all about doing what's best for the kingdom, for your people. You never have time to think about things such as your own happiness, because you're putting all your focus and energy into making everyone around you happy. It's exhausting and just...not for me. So, when I realized Nirobus made me happy, I did what was best for me. Ask yourself, what does Marco Diaz want? Not just to make her happy. Don't be afraid to put yourself first dear. If you continue to do everything she says, without thinking about yourself or you will end up miserable. Take it from me."

As much as Marco didn't want it to be true, it was. Eclipsa had done what she felt like was best for her. Whether it was the right thing for Mewni or not, it made her happy. He had given up a lot for Star. His life on Earth, leaving his friends, his family and Jackie behind. When he came back, it turned out River's offer of knighthood wasn't serious, and that beloved cape of his was a meat blanket. The knights mocked him for believing he could be one of them, as did the squires. Star tried to make him squire to the Knight of the Wash, it seemed like because she wanted to get rid of him. Then the Lava Lake trip...happened. The less he thought about that, the better. Ever since she found that family tree, she'd been pushing him and his attempts to help away, and it hurt. But he didn't want to stop helping. He had to put his foot down eventually, and do what was best for him. He would have to sort out his thoughts to find out what that was.

"Thanks Eclipsa. I'll keep that in mind," He said honestly. He was grateful for the advice. It made him feel a bit better about things. She really wasn't that bad after all.

"My pleasure." She smiled and handed him Glossaryk. "I'd better get going, the guards will be back on rotation soon." She began walking back towards the old Rose Tower.

Marco watched her begin to leave but had one more thing to say. "Hey Eclipsa, could you not tell Star or anyone we talked about this," He asked, nervously rubbing his arm.

She turned around. "Of course dear, my lips are sealed. If you ever need someone to talk to, you know where to find me." She soon moved out of his sight.

Marco held the now sleeping Glossaryk, starting the long walk back to the castle. He felt considerably better, his head somewhat clear for the moment. He was glad that there was someone he could turn to for solid advice now. He wouldn't have to ramble to Glossaryk or the laser puppies anymore. Speaking of the little guys, it was nearly noon, almost their lunchtime. He'd get on that, but first he was taking a shower,and changing socks.

 **Next episode**

 **Episode 16A: Life in Echo Creek- Star and Marco's friends and family adjust to life without them, after both move to Mewni.**


	3. Episode 16A: Life in Echo Creek

**Review Corner**

 **allen Vth- Eclipsa's advice has a habit of being a double edged sword. Take her advice in 'Deep Dive', it lead to Star getting her Butterfly form, but almost lead to her permanently bring stuck in the Realm of Magic. And yes, angst is definitely on the way.**

 **Jayson- Master of Storm- The Eclipsa/Marco dynamic is an interesting one that never really got any time. I decided to play with it a bit, they definitely mirror each other. There will be insights into the perspectives of other characters, the usual suspects, Star, Tom, Moon,etc. And some you won't expect.**

 **Useful76- Right on the nose. Star does not realize she is hurting Marco, it's just kind of happening subconsciously. This will be a common theme with a lot of things. Thanks so much, I wanted to make this a plot driven, character study. Lots of introspection, angst and action to come.**

 **Two updates in two days!? What is this, another Starbomb? Nah, since I have a little time on my hands because of memorial day, I figured I could squeeze out another chapter. Welcome back to Echo Creek everyone, with episode 16A!**

One could hear a pen drop in Echo Creek, California. The small Los Angeles town had a history of being a sleepy, quiet, laid back town. The citizens went about their daily lives, perfectly content with the lack of excitement present. It was just your average community, in the party state of California.

But last year, all that suddenly changed overnight when a foreign exchange student started at Echo Creek High. Her name was Star Butterfly, a magical princess from another dimension. She brought with her, danger, excitement, bubbly enthusiasm and a sense of unbridled joy. Soon she and her best friend, resident "Misunderstood Bad boy", Safe Kid, Marco Diaz had daily went on daily adventures and battles with monsters.

The citizens of Echo Creek welcomed this newfound excitement and grew to relish having the happy, blonde princess around. They grew used to her often destructive antics. If there was any vandalized property or disaster, you could bet Star and Marco weren't far. Though to most, it was somewhat refreshing, a nice change of pace.

But like a shooting star, she was there and then she was gone. Quicker than anyone could register, she returned to her home dimension of Mewni. It left her friends stunned and confused. Why did it have to be so soon? Soon her partner in crime left as well, leaving their friends devastated. But as they say, life goes on.

* * *

The Diaz household was quiet, as had been the staple for the last few months. Gone was the sound of the yipping of the laser puppies, the blasting sound of Star's wand, or Marco's cries for her to stop. No, there was nothing but the sound of absolute stillness, and the ticking clock.

Rafael Diaz sat at the table, chewing on his pen as he tried to work out a crossword puzzle. There was a plate of bacon and toast in front of him, half eaten, discarded in favor of the puzzle. This one proved to be rather difficult.

Angie sat across from her husband, reading. In her hands was a book of poetry. She wore her reading glasses, silently studying a nature poem.

Rafael scratched his head. The Latino was puzzled, to say the least. He looked to his wife. " Honey ,what's a seven letter word for driving something together?"

Her head snapped up immediately. "What?" For a few seconds she was answered only by the sounds of the ticking clock.

"I said-"

"Rafael, when did we get so boring?"

He looked up from the puzzle. "I...don't know." He had suspected it had started after Star left Earth. The girl certainly brought excitement. Getting into fights with wacky monsters, causing havoc and creating destruction, creating strange things with her spells. They had grown so used to having all that, having her apart of their lives, that what used to excite them, just didn't anymore. To make matters worse, Marco had left a couple months ago too, to chase after his best friend. It was tough to see his friend go, but he needed to have his "french summer", as Angie said.

She looked over at her thoughtful husband, a small smirk forming on her face. "And there's only one cure for boredom."

His thoughtful expression became a sly smirk a second later. He set the puzzle down. "Medical illustrations?"

"Medical illustrations."

Rafael stood up from the table. "I'll go get the book." He ran up the stairs to grab it.

Angie's smile faded as soon as he was gone. The truth was, she missed her son. The last time he'd spoken to them was around Christmas, when he had come back to Earth for a bit of visit ,while gathering things for Star's birthday. He told them how busy he'd been after Star made him her squire and all they'd been going through. It was nice seeing him again, even briefly, but what she wanted more than anything was for him to come home. Though she understood why he had to leave, he need his own "French Summer". Still, he seemed...down when he visited, something was bothering him, but he insisted everything was fine. Angie put her smile back on when she heard her husband coming back down the stairs.

* * *

Sensei Brantley stood in front of his small class of students. He took a deep breath out of both his nose and mouth. His students mirrored his actions, following their sensei's lead. In addition to his usual martial arts gi, he wore the red cape Marco had given him before he left. In fact, he'd never taken it off. Everywhere he went, he wore the cape, refusing to part with it. His mom had been constantly telling him to take it off, much to his annoyance. The 38 year old paraded around town like a superhero. Now, he stood in front of an electric fan, the air making the cape flap dramatically.

One of the students, a blue belt rolled their eyes at this. "Sensei you haven't taken that cape in four months, it's gotten kind of old."

"Silence," Sensei snapped. The class flinched, never hearing him seem so angry before. He noticed this and took a deep breath. "I never did tell you all the story behind this cape. Come here my students." The class came closer and sat down in front of him.

Sensei cleared his throat. "This cape was given to me by an old friend. I helped train him and he became the greatest and bravest warrior I've ever known. His battles were legendary, and he was so skilled. Before he went off on his travels, he gave me this cape as a symbol of respect and our friendship. At the end of the day, he taught me, just as much as I taught him." He sounded like he was tearing up.

"Woahhh..." The class was in awe.

"What's his name?"

Sensei's tears soon dissappeared and he stood proudly once again. "His name was Marco Diaz."

* * *

Oskar Greason played a series of sad notes on his keytar. Well that's what it was supposed to be, it sounded more like a dying animal. The boy sat on the hood of his car, parked in the parking lot of the public library, how ironic. This was a song he'd been singing since summer, since she left.

"Ohhhh Shooting Star," the would-be musician began. "You were here for such a short time. And then you were gone and I was out of time. All I wanted was to be your Mango. I don't know what rhymes with Mango! You left, so high and dry, before I had the chance to say goodbye."

As he finished his heartfelt song, the citizens of Echo Creek were in anguish. They had their hands to their ears and heads, screaming and running around.

"MAKE IT STOP, ALL I HEAR IS RINGING," one exclaimed, rolling around on the ground, like a pig wallowing in mud.

"MY EARS, THEY'RE BLEEDING," someone else said, putting a hand to their bleeding ears.

Sirens and ambulances rushed to the scene. It was complete pandemonium as the surrounding residents continued to writhe in agony. Oskar had his back to the scene, completely oblivious. He continued to play away, more sad, high notes. He soon stopped and just stared up at the sky. She was out there somewhere, he knew it. One day, she'd come back, he was sure of that too. Just as sure as he was that his other keytar had reached Mars.

* * *

Jackie Lynn Thomas stared into her mango-peach smoothie. The girl had a lot on her mind, which was usually the case nowadays. Ever since Star and Marco had left, school had gone back to the way it was before her arrival on Earth, eventless and boring. Except now they had the memory of all the excitement Star brought to compare it to, making it even worse. But that wasn't all that was bothering her...

"Man that Winter Formal was a drag! Wasn't nearly as fun as last year's. Guess Star does really make everything more fun. Only thing that saved it, was that dead rat I put in the punch. Ha! Skeeves lost his mind."

Next to her, Janna was downing a blackberry smoothie, as she recounted her story, with her feet propped up in the metallic chair, a book of necromancy in front of her. She looked at Jackie curiously. "You haven't taken a sip, you okay?"

Jackie looked up and put on a fake smile, trying to act as carefree as she usually did. "I'm fine, just thinking is all."

Janna rolled her eyes. She was too skilled at lying to not recognize it. "Yeah rrright. This is about Marco isn't it?"

Jackie looked at her incredulously. "Whaaaaaat no!" When Janna gave her an unconvinced look, she changed her answer. "Maybe." After another look from Janna, she sighed. "Yes."

"I knew it," Janna said, smirking triumphantly.

"It's just, I really miss him Janna. Our time together, even though it was brief, was amazing, I loved every second of it. He' such a sweet guy. If only I'd noticed him before..."

"Star," Janna finished. "And aren't you the one that ended things with him? Because he kept wearing that dumb cape or something."

Jackie's hook her head. It went way deeper than just a cape. When Marco came back from Mewni, he was different. He was the same sweet, adorable, Safe Kid she'd grown to adore, but he just didn't belong on Earth anymore. He sought adventure in the smallest of things, his time with Star had really changed him. Star, she was never made at her, one couldn't control who they fell for, which is why she didn't hate Marco either. That cape symbolized where Marco's heart truly lied, not on Earth, on Mewni, not with her, with Star.

"His heart wasn't with me anymore Janna, we both know that. And just because I ended things, doesn't mean I don't miss him. Whenever I skate passed his house, when I see his empty desk at school, whenever I see a red hoodie, which have suddenly become the latest trend. I love him Janna, and it hurt to let him go."

Janna looked at her friend with a look of pity. "Jeez, first Star is all depressed over Marco, then he's all messed up about her, and now you're stuck on him. What love lives you guys have." She took another sip.

Jackie blinked. "Wait Marco's depressed?" He was unhappy? Wasn't seeing Star again what he wanted? What happened?

"Yeah. He hides it well, but Star got back together with her ex, that super cool demon dude. He's not taking too well."

Jackie sighed. Marco really went from the frying pan into the fryer. From a breakup, to seeing Star dating someone else. For the first time, she felt slight anger at Star for toying with his emotions like this. Taking a deep breath, she suppressed it. "Next time you see him, tell him I said to hang in there, she'll come around. And tell him, I..."

"You what?"

"I love him," Jackie said confidently. It was true, it was time she faced facts and admitted it.

Janna took another sip of her smoothie. "Alright, will do. Now are you gonna finish that?"

Jackie passed her the smoothie before letting out a melancholy sigh. She stared up at the setting sun, her frown turning into a smile in a second. "Hang in there, Safe Kid."

 **Next Episode**

 **Episode 16B- Myth of the Monster- Star and Buff Frog journey into the Monster Temple to learn more about Eclipsa's monster husband, Nirobus, and their history with Mewni.**


	4. Episode 16B: Myth of the Monster

**Review Corner**

 **allen Vth- I was a little disappointed that the subplot with Marco and the knights and squires didn't really go anywhere in the show. I feel it held a lot of potential for solo character development for Marco, which was lacking overall. Yes, Eclipsa's advice will play a major role for a lot of characters. And Jackie just wants Marco to be happy, which is why she broke up with him, but now she sees it's for nothing because he's still not. She'll definitely be back down the line. Star has her reasons though. And Janna haha, I won't spoil anything.**

 **Jayson - Master of Storm- The Echo Creek crew** **will definitely be back. Janna is a very interesting character ,and I share your opinion that she is under developed and I will be doing more with her character. This episode will be as much as a solo outing for Star as 'Lunar Eclipse' was for Marco, as she needs attention on her character. Thanks for the kind words.**

 **Useful76** \- **Jackie is definitely justified in her anger, what Star did is wrong, for all parties involved. Glad you liked this episode, Jackie will be coming back for sure. I always found Sensei and Oskar to be funny, but they could be annoying (especially Oskar) and I wanted to play around with that. Janna is definitely one of my favorite characters too. She seems to be the only one from Earth that Star and Marco make much of an effort to keep around. You won't be disappointed with her role in future episodes.**

 **Guest- Marco's happiness is very important to his character, and will be addressed as the story goes on.**

 **3Ross77 - Hey man! Thanks for the kind words! Glad you're enjoying it thus far. This story stems off some thoughts I had prior to Season 3B, about how to proceed. I loved Season 3B, but there were some things I didn't agree with or felt could have been made more interesting.**

Star Butterfly ducked under another row of "Thou shall not cross " tape. "You doing okay back there Buff Frog?" The girl turned around to check on her companion, only to see him tied up in the yellow tape. Sighing, she quickly and roughly untied him. "Come on, there's no time for messing around."

Buff Frog scratched his head. "Are you sure this is good idea," He asked in his thick Russian accent. "This is ancient Monster Temple, full of things not meant to be known."

Star waved her hand, dismissing his apprehension. "And that's why I brought you, you are the Monster Expert after all. I just have to know more, more about this Nirobus guy Eclipsa married."

The monster's eyes widened. So this was why she'd stormed into his office without warning, asking him to accompany her to the temple. "Nirobus? He monster hero."

Star stopped in her tracks, giving him a an expression of disbelief. "Wait you know- of course you do!" She'd been looking in the wrong places for information the whole time! Could she really expect to find anything about Eclipsa's monster husband in books around the castle? Everything was probably either removed or written with a clear bias. She could try the Library of Secrets again, but something told her that wasn't a good idea, probably not knowing if Greta was still buried under those bookshelves. She thought to bring Buff Frog along because he would know how to translate all the monster symbols and carvings and stuff, but now she knew he could provide historical context as well.

"Star, maybe Karate Boy was right. This doesn't seem like good idea".He called Marco the old nickname out of habit. Sneaking into an area considered off limits from the knights and the High Commission seemed like a risky idea, regardless of his job title and her status as princess. She had always been like this, reckless and impulsive, the think on her feet type. She went after Toffee, not just once, but twice with no real plan and somehow emerged victorious both times.

"Pssh! Marco's just a worry wart! We got nothing to worry about, no one's here," She said, peering through the dark entrance. "Probably."

"How comforting," He muttered. "Why isn't he here again? Feel bad leaving him alone to watch tadpoles."

"Aww don't be silly! Marco will be fine! He's great with kids. Now let's go." She used the pink light of her wand to illuminate the area as they entered the temple. Star felt she was prepared for anything these days, having took on an immortal lizard and found out she was related to one of her greatest enemies, but was she prepared for what they would find? She'd never thought she shared blood with Heinous of all people. That really opened her eyes. There was still so much that she didn't know. Even as princess, she was being kept in the dark, either unknowingly or maybe even knowingly by her mother. Did she know about Eclipsa and Heinous, or better yet Meteora? If so, why did she choose to hide this from her? Star had really thought things had changed between him during that time they were on the run from Toffee. After she told her the story of how she lost her mother, became queen at such a young age, struggled to decide between peace and war, made a deal with Eclipsa and battled Toffee. Star thought her mother had grown to trust her, to be more open with her, deem her worthy to know her secrets. But that might not have been the case. As she and Buff Frog walked through the first corridor of the temple, the princess was eager to find anything on the monster. But wasn't prepared for what she would.

* * *

Marco lifted the thick book up to the table, panting. "Has this thing gotten heavier?" How did he let Star talk him into this? One minute they're going to see Buff Frog, the next she bolts off to the Monster Temple without him. And here he thought he'd actually get to help her for real this time. But alas, he was babysitting again, this time the Buff Babies, when he could have been using the time to train for the upcoming Squire Games.

"Let's see here, babies eat in thirty minutes. Then thirty minutes play time in the swamps, then dinner, then time for bed. Sounds doable." Marco closed the book, but as surprised to feel a tugging at his pant leg. "Huh?" He looked down to see Little Katrina.

"Hey Karate Godfather, long time no see!"

He smiled at the cute tadpole, remembering how frail and delicate she used to be . "Hey Katrina, woah you can talk now? Wait Godfather?" It was such an honor that the tadpoles thought of him that way.

"Yes, if Star is our Godmother, you must be our Godfather, no?"

The boy blushed as dark as his trademark hoodie. "N-no you g-got it all wrong. W-what makes you think..." The poor babysitter was shaking with embarrassment. He hid his scarlet cheeks in his hood.

"Are you okay, Karate Godfather?" Katrina looked up at him with a worried and slightly confused expression.

Marco peeked his head out of his hood, gazing up at the clock. "Oh would you look at the time? Lunch time! Could you go get your siblings?" He ran off into the kitchen, leaving Katrina alone in the living blinked and started on her way to get the rest of her siblings. Karate Godfather sure was a strange one.

* * *

Star let the pink light of her wand dim a little bit, as she held it out in front of her. The Commission could detect magical signatures, which is how Rhombulus showed up at the party so quickly. With that knowledge, she wanted to use as little magic as possible, to avoid any possible run-ins.

"Let's head down those stairs, Meteora's nursery was down there, maybe we can find something else."

Buff Frog nodded in agreement, following Star's lead. Using the light to read the carvings on the wall, he tapped her on the shoulder. "This tells story of first Monster King and his family. He unify all monster tribes to form one kingdom. Stopping the fighting amongst us, it was age of peace, that is until the Mewmans showed up."

Star shivered slightly when he said this. She had long since accepted the fact that her people were unfair towards Monsters, but hearing about how they had interrupted an era of peace made her ashamed and admittedly a little embarrassed.

Buff Frog continued the story. "These statues represent the major and most powerful 5 tribes in Mewni. The Avarians, Cyclops, Amphibiods, Septarians and Leviathans, where Nirobus and family come from." Star was fascinated by this.

"Toffee, he was…."

"Septarian, yes. I am Amphibiod." He followed Star down the staircase, using the dim light of her wand to point out more symbols and carvings on the wall.

Star couldn't help but remember the bombshell from the party as they descended down the staircase. Ms. Heinous, someone who she had grown up fearing along with the whole of St. Olga's, someone who was relentlessly after her best friend, was her great, great, great something aunt. It was hard to believe, to say the least.

When they finally reached the large room where Mina had been lurking, Buff Frog began examining the surrounding statues, trying to decipher their meaning, while Star surveyed the damage. Most of the ceiling had caved in from the shenanigans from the party. The doors, clad with the glowing clovers on either side, were still open, as if they hadn't been disturbed, which was strange, as she thought the High Commission would have tampered with something when they searched the room. Yet everything was as it had been that night, like they hadn't moved anything around in the slightest. Like they were afraid to touch anything with a ten foot pole. Was that why Rhombulus had seemed so determined to get that out of there in such a hurry? What was here? What had him spooked so much?

"Alright Buff Frog, let's check the nursery out now," Star said as she shifted the light from her wand to the dimly lit room. When she was met with silence, she turned around to look for her comrade, who had been just behind her. "Buff Frog?" The silence was thick and eerie and unsettled the princess.

"Traveling without Princess Marco I see." A familiar voice suddenly broke the uncomfortable silence. Very familiar indeed.

Meteora stepped out of the nursery, with a half smirk dancing on her lips. She looked even more monstrous than she had at the party. Her left arm had completely morphed into that of a scaly claw, while her right armed remained normal. She held the time worn Eclipsa doll on her normal hand and the corresponding Nirobus doll in her monstrous one. Her irises were a vibrant yellow, comparable to that of a wild animal's. Her eyes still held that familiar malice and hate from before, but they were crazy, wild, mad. "I'm not sure I want you in my house, but I suppose you are family. Oh Rasticore!"

The Septarian came out of the shadows on cue. He had completely regenerated from the incident at Quest Buy all those months ago, as his arm and head had finally grew back. His metal arm was wrapped around the neck of Buff Frog as he struggled in vain, kicking. "Miss me, Princess?" Gemini was at his side, scoffing a bit at the attention Rasticore was receiving.

Star looked up at the lizard, puzzled. "Let Buff Frog go, whoever you are."

"Wait, you don't remember me?"

"Uhhh no, should I? Could you let go of my friend though?"

"I tried to kill you!"

Star blinked. "You did? Oh yeah! You're the guy from that one time at the party! And at Quest Buy when you got blown up by the card!"

"Seriously? My name is Rasticore Chaosdisastervane! That's how you remember me?"

Meteora's eye twitched. "Enough! Now it's simple Princess. We both know the wand doesn't belong to you. Give it to me, and you and your friend can leave peacefully, for now."

Star looked down at the wand in her hands. As far as she was concerned it did rightfully belong to her. Meteora's sister was her ancestor after all. But with how things were looking in her research, it didn't look like things were very fair for Eclipsa and Nirobus. "Meteora, this isn't the way. I know things in the past weren't very fair, but I'm trying to get to the bottom of it. Things will get better for you, for monsterkind, I promise. I just need a little time."

The former headmistress let out a deep,animalistic growl and her cheekmarks began glowing. "Time!? Don't you think you and your ancestors have been sitting on a false throne for long enough!? They imprisoned my mother, my father vanished and things haven't changed. I've read the stories here, about how things used to be, before your people came here. Things are not going to change as long as you and your mother sit on those paper thrones!"

Glancing at Buff Frog, who's face was turning blue and hearing Meteora's stubborn determination, Star reasoned she had no choice. "Mega Narwhal Blast!" She fired her trademark spell at Meteora who groaned as she slid backwards a bit.

"Wrong choice, Butterfly." Meteora came barreling towards her, cheekmarks still glowing vibrantly. She raised her claw, shooting out a blast of green magic, reminiscent of Toffee.

Star's eyes widened and she countered with another quick Narwhal Blast. She began to slide backwards as the blasts collided, clearly being overpowered. The fragile ground beneath her began to crack, before it gave out entirely, sending Star falling below. "AHHHH!"

Gemini clapped enthusiastically. "Excellent job, Ms Heinous."

"It's Meteora, you twit! And she still has the wand, find her!"

* * *

Star hit the ground with a thud, landing on her stomach. She groaned as she hopped to her feet, dusting off her dress. "Should have seen that one coming." She picked up her wand and used it as a makeshift lantern again. It was even more dark down here than it was up there.

It seemed like these was no reaching Meteora. She hoped it didn't have to come to this, she really did. Meteora could have been the key to everything she had been trying to accomplish. What better way to stop all the prejudice, bias and animosity between Mewmans and Monsters, than with a hybrid, a union. Of royal blood no less. To show they they could coexist peacefully. But Mina just had to come in and ruin everything. Plant the seed of distrust, convince Meteora that the only way things could end was in a fight. And for once, Star saw that wasn't the answer.

Star nearly tripped over a platform on the ground. "Ugh, what the-" She looked down to see it was some sort of dial. Fascinated, she stepped back to examine it.

The dial went to some kind of diagram, carved into the floor. In the center there was a crescent moon, surrounding a sun and star symbol. The alignment is what struck her. Moon, Sun, Star. There was a strange sense of familiarity. She had seen this somewhere before, but where? The pink light from her wand landed on the star symbol, like a glowing beacon. And she swore she saw a red light shine through a crack in the wall, encompassing the sun and moon.

"What is this? And where have I seen it before?" And to find this in the Monster Temple of all places. Everything here meant something. She shook her head, snapping herself out of her transfixed state. She needed to focus. Buff Frog needed her help and she needed to find a way back up. And she had just the idea in mind.

* * *

Buff Frog struggled against the literal iron grip of Rasticore, still kicking the best he could while slowly being strangled. He had to get and help Star, but the lizard's grip was just too strong. He needed to have plan. And fast. Scary monster lady was determined to find her.

He shot his tongue out of his mouth, as if he were trying to catch a fly and began dragging it over the ground, flinching at the horrible taste as he did.

Rasticore cringed, his grip around Buff Frog's neck unintentionally loosening. "Are, you trying to eat or something? Or was this supposed to scare me?"

"Neither, I just needed you to loosen grip." He used to the momentary distraction to jab Rasticore in the ribs, allowing him to break free as he dived forward. Scrambling to his feet, he punched him in the face, as Rasticore scrambled back, trying to regain his bearings.

"For Ms. Heinous!" Gemini came running towards him in a mad dash. Buff Frog backhanded him into wall, knocking him out cold.

"Must find Star," He said as he was soon punched by Rasticore who had managed to regain balance.

Buff Frog retaliated with another punch, only to be stopped by Rasticore's metal arm. The monsters locked hands and began a battle of strength, neither giving an inch. Rasticore had the edge in strength, his metal arm gave him a significant advantage and Buff Frog began to lose ground, being forced towards the wall. The Septarian broke away throwing another punch, aimed right towards Buff Frog's head. The Amphibiod ducked quickly, sweep kicking his opponent and tackling him to the ground.

"Give up." He pulled him into a headlock. He felt a sharp pain in the side of his head and fell to the ground. Rasticore caught him with a swift elbow as he got to his feet, drawing his chainsaw.

"End of the line." He pulled the string and tried to revv it up, to no avail. He tried again and again only getting the same incomplete roar of the chainsaw trying to start. "Hold on." He was getting more and more frustrated with his lack of progress. Buff Frog would have been able to get up, of he wasn't dazed from that last blow.

Finally, the chainsaw started. "Alright, I got i-" Rasticore was cut off, as he was blasted in the back.

Star came flying out from the ground, shimmering in a vibrant golden light, like some kind of warrior goddess. Her recently mastered Butterfly form. "Alright Buff Frog, we need to leave, now."

The monster blinked. That was the same form she vaporized Toffee with. But her pupils, they weren't stars like before, they were their normal blue. She seemed more in control now too, even her voice was at its usual pitch.

"There she is," Meteora shouted as she came running back into the room. She glanced at the defeated forms of Rasticore and Gemini on the ground. "Absolutely useless! No matter, I'll just do it myself." She began barreling towards Star again, but this time she was ready.

"Winter Storm Hyperblow!" She caught Meteora as she was lunging at her, completely encasing her in ice. Man, Butterfly form packed a punch. Even she was surprised that worked so well, but she also knew it wouldn't last.

"Come on Buff Frog! That's not gonna hold her for long!"

Buff Frog got to his feet and suppressed a yelp of surprise when Star scooped him up with on her her six arms. "Hold on, this might hurt a bit." She sped up in her flight, heading upwards like a speeding comet. Soon, she crashed through the roof with ease, flinching a bit as she did. The duo escaped from the temple into the calm, night sky.

* * *

"You okay, Buff Frog."

"Honestly princess, been better, but thank you for saving me. Was in bit of trouble there."

Star waved her hand dismissively. "Don't mention it." She was back to normal now and the aftermath of the battle showed. Her green dress was scuffed and dirty and her face was covered in a few marks. But she was alive, and she still had her wand. Still, this whole night could have gone better. "Not how I planned this night would go. Meteora hates the kingdom and she's gonna seek revenge, no doubt, and I didn't learn all I wanted to about Nirobus."

Buff Frog plopped down next to her on the log she was currently sitting on. "There may be another way to find what you seek. Look on bright side, you found out a little."

Star perked up a bit at this. The bright side. The bright side! That was it. "Buff Frog, you genius!"

"What-"

"I need to make sure Eclipsa isn't found guilty in the trial. When she is, she can reunite with Meteora. She might be the only one who can talk some sense into her."

Buff Frog nodded. "But how will you find evidence?"

"I'm gonna talk to the person who knew her best."

Buff Frog hopped up from the log. "That's good plan. In meantime, why don't we go see how Karate Boy did with babies?"

Star grinned as she hopped up from the log, going after Buff Frog who began the journey back to the hut. Tonight hadn't gone as planned, but it helped her to form a better one. A plan she was going to put into action soon. But for now, she needed to see if Marco survived.

* * *

The ice around Meteora began to crack before she shed it entirely. "She's gone!"

She glanced as Gemini slowly came too, rubbing the back of his misshapen, bald head. "I'm sorry mam." He flinched, expecting a verbal onslaught for his failure, humiliating failure at that. Surprisingly it didn't come.

The hybrid simply smirked. "Don't be." She thought back to the form she had seen Princess Butterfly take. "Now I have something to work towards." She felt heat rise to her cheeks as the clovers began to glow again. "Now go be useful and help up poor Rasticore."

Gemini stumbled over to help the lizard up, mumbling something about winning Meteora's favor and Septarians being overrated.

* * *

 **Next Episode**

 **Episode 17A: Plight of the Poltergeist: When Star,Marco and Janna attempt to summon the ghost of Eclipsa's Mewman husband for some answers, things go awry**.


	5. Episode 17A : Plight of the Poltergeist

**Review Corner**

 **Useful76- Indeed. This was a transition episode, now the ball can really start rolling. We're in the thick of it now.**

 **allen Vth- Marco is definitely getting more and more fed up with being a glorified servant. But we will see the other, cooler side was his squire status, very soon ;) The tadpoles are adorable indeed. And Star did unknowingly open the door for Meteora to get even more powerful, which is a scary thought. And Eclipsa's Mewman husband's interaction with the trio this chapter, is interesting to say the least. And yes the Blood Moon will be returning in some capacity later on. Poor Rasticore, he'll get his moment. And Star feels she has earned her mother's trust, defeating Toffee, saving the kingdom and defying the odds, which is why this cuts so deep. However her success has made her a bit overconfident, as evident by her dismissing the problems of her sleep-portaling in 'Deep Dive' and her overconfidence will surely lead to mistakes, which will come back to bite her.**

 **Jayson - Master of Storm - Thanks for the kind words! I tried to be as authentic and true to the show as possible with their interaction. And yes, the lore from the spellbook will play a very important role in future episodes, combined with lore of my own design.**

 **Author's Note**

 **Just a reminder to avoid confusion, Shastacan and Globgore are named Alexander Demeek and Nirobus respectively in this story, and their characters and personalities differ from canon. Just thought I'd mention that, as the subject comes up this chapter. Without further ado, Episode 17A! *Insert intro here***

Marco Diaz groaned slightly in annoyance as he walked alongside his best friend. "Star, I still don't think this is a great idea. I mean I get wanting to get the inside scoop from a credible witness, but why are we doing this, of all things? The last two times you summoned something ended with you losing your spellbook and that thing eating everyone last Halloween."

The girl scoffed, as if she couldn't believe Marco even asked her that. "Because he knew her better than anyone! Everyone else has a bias against her, you know that."

Yeah a husband she cheated on. He probably wouldn't have very good things to say about her. "Alright, fair enough. But did we have to bring Janna? Couldn't Tom do this, he's literally a demon."

"I don't really want Tom involved in this. Plus Janna has been jumping at the chance to showcase her skills, I couldn't say no to her. Look how excited she is." They glanced back at Janna who was a little bit behind them, nose buried in a book, eagerly reading.

"Fine," Marco conceded as they rounded the corner of a another corridor in the seemingly endless castle. They has been walking for what seemed like forever, through countless twists and turns. At this rate, it would be forever before they reached the room. The boy wasn't exactly eager to summon a ghost, but he wasn't keen on staying up all night either. The Squire Games were coming up, and he planned on doing some early morning training tomorrow. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"Totally, totally, totally…." The princess chewed on her wand, a habit of her's when she was nervous.

He eyed her suspiciously and that was all it took to get her to crack.

"Okay, not exactly, but Mom said it was around here somewhere."

"You live in a castle Star. Somewhere could be a lot of places."

Star sighed. "We're just gonna have to find it. We'll cover more ground if we split up. Marco, me and you will-"

"Actually Star, I was thinking me and Marco could search together. I needed to talk to him about something anyways," Janna spoke up for the first time in a while, shutting the book.

"Uhh, okay?" Star was a bit confused at the suddenness of the change. Usually everyone just defaulted to her and Marco doing things together, well everyone but Tom.

Before Marco could protest, Janna yanked him along by the arm, pulling him against his will. Great, just great. Star went the opposite direction, using her wand as a lantern, ready to search on her own. Meanwhile, Marco felt his pocket to make sure his wallet was still there. One could never be too careful. The squire began to mentally prepare himself for whatever horrors time alone with Janna could entail. The ghost could wait.

* * *

There was an awkward silence amongst the two human teens and that struck Marco as unusual. Janna had never been the quiet type. She finally released her death grip on her arm and simply looked straight ahead, not paying him the slightest bit of attention.

Marco rubbed his arm and attempted to break the silence. "Sooo, you needed to talk to me about something?"

She kept her eyes ahead, and now he was definitely sure something was up. She hadn't looked at him since they'd split up from Star. "I talked to Jackie the other day."

At the mention of her name, his eyes went wide and his body went stiff. Every time he thought about her, he was overwhelmed with an immense feeling of guilt. The girl he had be pining over for so long, and he couldn't treat her right. He couldn't get to know her like he promised both her and himself he would.

He managed to croak out a response. "H-how is she?"

"How do you think?"

Marco sighed. "So she hates me." He shouldn't have expected anything less. Them ending things on friendly terms was just wishful thinking.

"Quite the opposite actually. We both know Jackie doesn't roll like that."

He blinked in disbelief, not quite understanding. "I don't understand-"

"She said she loves you Diaz, wanted me to tell you that. Told her about you and Star's little soap opera. She feels bad for you."

"I-" Marco truly didn't know what to say. She loved him? After all he put her through? After he tried stringing both himself and her along on one last final joyride, to keep up the "perfect life" he had always envisioned for himself. Disappearing without a trace for two months to chase after the girl who told him she had a crush on him in front of everyone, only sparing a few texts. And upon returning, acting like an arrogant, inconsiderate jerk who couldn't stand to be away from that very same girl, effectively choosing, Mewni over her, Star over her. Yet she still loved him.

"She misses you so much, she has to take another way home from school, just to avoid passing your house. She looks like she's gonna burst into tears every time she sees a red hoodie." She took Marco's stunned silence as a nonverbal invitation to go on. "What's wrong Diaz? Expected her to just brush this off? To just sweep this all under the rug, like you did? Are you really that out of tune with reality to realize that you're not the only person with feelings?"

There was a something about the way she said the last sentence. The way the words left her tongue, a particular venom. A particular edge that let him know that she wasn't talking about Jackie anymore. "Janna-"

She finally turned around to face him, her brown eyes staring directly into his. They'd lost their usual mischievous glint, looking less alive than usual. The troublemaker looked more vulnerable than she ever had, her mask was finally coming off. "Why do you think I give you such a hard time? Always hovering around you, taking your stuff?" She didn't wait for him to answer, indicating the question was rhetorical. "I-It was the only way I could get you to notice me. To r - really notice me." Her voice was thick with emotion, and she sounded on the verge of tears.

If Marco was caught off guard before, he'd just been completely blindsided now. One of the toughest, most strong-willed people he knew was unraveling before him, pouring her heart out. The boy couldn't summon the words to interject, resolving to let her continue.

"I've known you since Kindergarten, but that's what you met her, Jackie. You spent the next nine years pining after her, making goo-goo eyes and acting like a lovesick puppy. Do you wanna know your biggest flaw Marco? Your determination. You try so hard to go for some goal, and you ignore what's been there right under your nose the whole time. Sound familiar?"

Those last few words cut deeply. He'd made the same mistake twice, and he'd been making it for most of his life. Star and Janna had been silently hurting when she was dating Jackie, but Janna had been for a lot longer than that.

There were tears welling up in her eyes now. "After a while, I-I figured I might as well give up. You'd been hopelessly in "love" with her for years. And no matter what I did, I couldn't get you to see me, really see me. I tried everything, following you, flirting with you, stealing your wallet, your phone, your house keys, but it was never enough. You kept right along chasing something that wasn't real!"

The Latino could only listen as the girl spilled out her pent up, years old pain. It allowed him a moment of clarity. He had always thought Janna picked on him because he was an easy target. Not hard to provoke and wouldn't really do much of anything in response. But he had misinterpreted. How could he be so blind?

"And then to top I-It a-all off, the princess showed up. I watched as she accomplished what I had been trying to for years in a matter of weeks. She began to chip away at that firmly crafted pedestal you put Jackie on, bit by bit. How!? How did she get you to open up, to care for her so deeply that you'd go fight in a war that you had no part in!?"

Marco truly didn't have an answer. From the first day Star came to Earth, that just seemed to click and they got to know near everything about each other, rather quickly. Yet somehow, Janna had been trying to get closer to him for years and he never noticed. But there was still something he didn't understand. "T-the sleepover, the g-game. Star lied, not you..."

She nodded, eyes filled with tears, as she was full on crying now. "I didn't lie. I do have a crush on John Keats, but I don't know what to call what I feel for you anymore." She smiled a bit, a last ditch attempt to regain her calm facade. "I stole a lot of important things from you Marco. I guess Star just stole the most important thing of all, huh?" Janna let out a bitter laugh, sniffling.

She had shown too much, Marco saw through it. All the pain in her speech, the pain in her tears. Nine years worth of suppressed emotional baggage. Janna was like a ticking time bomb it was only going to be a matter of time before she couldn't keep it all inside anymore. She had finally shown who she truly was, and that was all he needed. He wrapped his arms around her without another word, arms not far from her shoulders due to the somewhat noticeable height difference between them.

She wasted no time in responding, throwing her arms around him in a crushing hug. Her eyes were still wet and the tears stained his hoodie, not that either cared. A part of Marco was surprised. Janna never hugged him, not once in the many years he'd known her. But a part of him wasn't. She had just poured her heart out and needed comfort, just like anyone else. This conversation had been enlightening for him, in many ways. His feelings towards Janna had definitely changed. Not in a romantic sense. He understood her on a deeper level now, as a person now that he knew her motives. But he had to break it to her, he couldn't hurt her more than he already had.

"I'm sorry Janna, I r-really had no idea. And that's the problem. I was so focused on an illusion, that I couldn't see what was right next to me the whole time. I can't imagine how neglected you must have felt." Marco paused, preparing for the worst due to what he was about to say, but it had to be said. He had to give her the closure she deserved. "I'm sorry, but I don't feel the way you do. But that doesn't mean I can't be a better friend."

He felt her tense up in disappointment. "Alright." She pulled away and punched him on the shoulder. "But don't think this means I'm not gonna give you a hard time." Her eyes regained their usual mischief and the corners of her lips tugged upwards in a smile.

Marco laughed, rubbing his arm. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Their gazes locked. Brown met brown. There was a sort of new understanding between them. All the tension that had been built up over the years had been resolved. The two Earthly teenagers shared a moment, long overdue, of true friendship. They could finally start anew.

Suddenly, a distant bellowing got their attention. "MARCO, JANNA, I FOUND HIS ROOM!" It was Star. Good thing the castle was do big, or she may have woken the whole thing.

Janna broke eye contact and picked up her book, which she had discarded on the ground earlier. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go get us a ghost," She said as she took off running towards where Star's voice had come from.

Marco shook his head and raced after her. They were about to face a possibly vengeful ghost, he was exhausted and had a lot to think about, with Jackie and Janna. But at least some good came out of this night.

* * *

Surprisingly, it didn't take long to find Star. She was standing in front of two closed double doors. "Oh, there you two are. What were you talking about? You were gone for a while." The princess raised an eyebrow curiously.

Janna fidgeted uncomfortably. "Um, well, we-"

"Janna had a message from Jackie," Marco butted it. Star didn't need to know the specifics of what they talked about. It wasn't a full lie though, that had been the initial topic of conversation. Janna flashed him a grateful smile, one that Star didn't seem to notice.

"Oh," was her simple response. An unreadable expression passed across her face, as she felt a familiar pang in her heart at the mention of the girl. What was that?

"So this is Alexander Demeek's room?" Marco asked, eager to change the subject.

Star snapped out of her momentary daze. "Uhh yeah! And it makes sense too. Mom told me to never go down this hallway. Said some maids went down here and never came back."

Janna shrugged. "Yep sounds like the right place. We going in or what?"

Star raised her wand to unlock the door. It took a while and the trio could hear what sounded like ancient gears turning. They slowly opened, letting out a slightly unsettling creak. The corridor was cloaked in a pitch black darkness. The blonde brought her wand out in front of her, letting it illuminate pink to light the way. "Well, time to have a little chat with grandpa." She took the plunge first, slowly making her way into the hallway.

The two humans followed, Marco hung behind, insisting on walking slowly, his hands up in his defensive karate position. The light from Star's wand was light enough so he could make out the paintings that lined the walls. There was one in particular that stood out to him. There was a man with jet black hair and sea green eyes with his arm resting on the shoulder of a woman with green hair and teal eyes. Eclipsa. It took him awhile to make out her identity, as she wasn't wearing her trademark Gothic, purple dress, instead wearing a more traditional looking and poofy royal blue dress. It was strange seeing her so prim and proper, smiling, though Marco could tell it wasn't real, being an expert of wearing the exact same expression for months. She was unhappy, that much was clear. In between the king and queen, stood a smiling girl, of about his age. She was almost the splitting image of Eclipsa, same green hair, same teal colored eyes, but her cheek marks were diamonds, just like Queen Moon. This must have been her Mewman daughter, Meteora's half-sister.

Star and Janna had reached the double doors of the room and Marco trotted after them. As soon as they entered, the three teens were hit by a cold, unsettling draft. The room was to be expected of royalty, there was a large queen-sized bed with blue sheets and a matching comforter set. There a massive mirror above the large wardrobe and a velvet rug in the middle of the room.

Shivering, the red hoodied boy faced his companions. "Can we just get this over with, this place is kinda creeping me out."

Janna opened the book, licking her finger so it would stick to the page. "We're gonna need to do this in front of that mirror."

Marco sighed. "Of course we do."

Star held her wand out in front of her as she went over to the mirror, just in case. This had to work. Alexander Demeek knew Eclipsa better than anyone else. The High Commission would undoubtedly be biased against her and there weren't exactly that many people that were around 300 years ago around alive. She had to make sure Eclipsa won that trial, so she could reunite with Meteora and stop all the fighting and halt the prejudice between Mewmans and Monsters.

The beanie wearing girl looked up from the book, gazing at her two friends. "Either of you have any candles? Gonna need those to make this work."

Marco gasped dramatically. "We don't have any candles! Guess we can't do it." He got up, about to walk towards the door. "Welp good-Ahaha!"

Star pulled grabbed him by the leg, causing him to fall. "Not so fast, Marco. I came prepared. She began to dig in her purse, pulling out three wax candles. "These will do, right Janna?"

"Ooh nicely." She took the candles and pulled a lighter out of her pocket, lighting each of them slowly and arranging them in a triangle around the trio, sitting on the floor next to them. "You two ready?"

"No-"

"Yep," was Star's cheerful reply.

Janna smiled. "Great!" She looked down at the book. "Oh spirit we seek your audience tonight, in a place of little light…" There was a sudden chill in the air and a soft breeze began flowing, making the three teens start shivering. The flames of the candles began to flicker ,dimming the light.

The Filipino girl continued, trying to ignore Marco's chattering teeth. "We seek your council and call your name by the source of your pain,we summon you to the mortal plain, come forth King Demeek!" The mirror began to fog up and the candles went out entirely.

Star lit up her wand again, the pink light the only way she could see her hand in front of her face. Looking towards the mirror, she did a double take when nothing else seemed to happen. "Janna, what's going on?"

"We definitely made contact."

For a moment all that could be heard was the shallow breathing of the three teens. The gust of wind had slowed and the trio looked up at the mirror, waiting for something, anything, a sign. Star gripped her wand on instinct, keeping it in front of her, Marco was anxiously in his defensive karate stance at her side, waiting for any sudden movements. Janna was the most calm out of the three, tucking the book under her arm, up her her knees with her eyes fixed on the mirror.

Suddenly, a ghastly hand slammed against the mirror from the inside, causing the friends to jump back, startled. As if on queue, the wind began to pick up again, blowing Janna's beanie off her head. The wind speed kept increasing until it became comparable to that of a hurricane.

Marco quickly grabbed onto the wardrobe to stabilize himself, hanging on for dear life. "What's going on!?"

Star and Janna were both hanging on to the end of the bed, the latter having discarded the book so she could hang on with both hands. "I don't know! He must be angry!" Her hair was flowing wildly.

The wind picked up even more as small nightstands and dressers began to leave the ground. The larger wardrobe that Marco was holding onto began to levitate. The boy didn't notice it at first, until he happened to look down, seeing the ground getting farther and farther away. "Ahahaha! Starrrrrr!" It began to pick up speed, heading towards the high ceiling at a fast pace.

"MARCO!" Both girls exclaimed. The Mewman released her hold on the bed, leaping from the ground to one of the slowly levitating nightstands. Counting, she discovered she was around five over from her best friend, who was pretty far above her. Surprisingly, her weight only brought the nightstand down a little as she leapt to the next. She mistimed it a bit, hitting her knee against the drawer, but held on regardless. 'I'm comin Marco'

The boy in question was still hanging on for dear life as the wardrobe approached the ceiling. If the impact didn't kill him, the fall definitely would. The wind had forced his hood onto his head so far that it covered his eyes, making him unable to see.

Star managed to get to a distance where she felt she could reach him. Pulling out her wand, she decided to try her luck. "Raspberry Ribbon Lasso!"

He seemed to realize what she was trying to do, because he took one of his hands off the wardrobe and grabbed the other end of the rope.

The girl pulled with all her might, determined to save her best friend. This had to work. He wasn't far from the ceiling now. "I got ya! I got…" She trailed off as a sudden explosion of green energy shattered the rope and sent everything falling back towards the ground. Oh no. Star's hand slipped from the nightstand and she fell to the ground, landing hard on her back. She quickly rolled to the side to avoid being crushed by the several falling nightstands, which broke on contact with the ground. "Marco!" She watched as the boy hit the ground with a heavy thud, the wardrobe landing right next to him. Both she and Janna ran to his side, as the wind had died down.

The princess kneeled next to her friend, who was face down on the ground, unmoving. "Marco! Wake up, wake up, you have to wake up!" She was desperately pleading, shaking his unmoving form, as she turned him over, only to find his eyes closed. She cradled him, frantically trying to wake him. In that moment, nothing else mattered. Not the ghost, the trial, Eclipsa or Meteora. Just Marco. Her lifeline.

Suddenly his eyes fluttered open. However, his or a weren't their usual brown. They were a deep sea green, just like the man in the picture.

Star jumped back, dropping him, alarmed. "M-Marco?"

Janna shook her head, backing away. "That isn't Marco. The spirit is using him as a vessel. He's possessed."

"Marco" became suspended in the air, green eyes fixed on the two girls. "Who dares disturb my rest? I am King Alexander Demeek, if the Butterfly Kingdom." His voice had a posh ring to it. Sounding, regal, authoritarian and stone cold.

Star took a deep breath, pushing her deep concern for her best friend to the back of her mind for now. She had to play this right. The princess stepped forward. "Hello King Demeek, I'm Star Butterfly, princess of the Butterfly Kingdom and your great, great, great, great…" She paused. "Something granddaughter."

The former king's eyes dawned on the blonde in recognition, seeing her heart cheekmarks. "Ah, a descendent of mine. Why did you summon me?"

"I just needed to ask you a couple questions."

"Fine, but make it quick. I may be dead, but I'd rather not spend all my time here."

Janna stepped out from behind Star. "How'd you die anyway?"

The ghastly figure looked unamused. "I choked on a kernel of corn."

Janna began snickering, trying to hold back a laugh. "Wait you're serious?"

"Yes, yes, quite. Fitting end to the reign of a great king, worthy of…."

Janna began full on laughing, tilting her head back. "Seriously dude that's just super anticlimactic! I mean even Alexander the Great had a better death than you!"

The ghost king grumbled in annoyance, his eye twitching. "Impossible! I am the greatest Alexander there ever was!"

"Seriously, worst death ever!"

Star smiled nervously and pulled the beanie wearing girl aside. "Stop irritating the ghost Janna."

The human stopped laughing. "Ugh, fine."

Star turned back to Demeek who had been waiting patiently. "Sorry about my friend there. I just needed to ask you a few questions a-about…" She stammered. The girl took a deep breath. "Eclipsa."

For a moment, Demeek stayed silent. Deathly silent. "Eclipsa?" He repeated as if he hadn't heard her.

"Yeah, Eclipsa."

"Eclipsa," He repeated again, a little more certain this time.

She laughed nervously. "Yeah, Eclipsa. Queen of Darkness? Monster Lover? Your ex wife?"

There was another moment of eerie silence. For a moment Star wasn't sure he remembered, it had been 300 years ago after all. That was until, he broke the silence. "You dare…" His voice was calm, too calm. The breeze began to pick up again. "You dare...MENTION HER?" The winds began raging again as he spat the words with venom.

Star struggled to stay on her feet hair flowing wildly. "Doesn't look like he's willing to cooperate Janna!"

The girl in question was in a similar state. "The only ways to send him back are to trap him in a mirror or resolve what's keeping him here."

Star looked back at the mirror which was shattered. "That...isn't an option." She trudged forward, through the wind. "King Demeek, I just really need to know. .."

The ghost king was seething with rage. "She betrayed Mewni, betrayed me! All I ever gave to her was my love, and our daughter who she also abandoned!" Paintings flew from the walls and Star had to duck to avoid being hit. "You opened up old wounds granddaughter, and now you're going to pay!"

Star avoided the projectiles coming her way. "Eclipsa ran away for love! She didn't…"

"And I loved her! But I had to watch her run away with some monster behind my back! I lost the love of my life to such a heinous creature. She abandoned our daughter, our beautiful baby girl to have a daughter with that filth…"

Star flinched at his harsh words against monsters but shook it off. "This isn't gonna change anything!"

"No, but you will at least pay dearly for mentioning her name!" The room began to shake violently, as a literal tornado started to form, picking up the bed like a rag doll.

Star blasted the tables and chairs throne her way with her wand, and looked over at Janna who'd lost the book. The human had been blown backwards against the wall, not able to move. The bed had dropped down to the ground, steadily sliding across the room towards her.

The princess raised her wand to intercept it but flinched as a grandfather clock fell on her back, sending her crashing to the ground. "N-no! Janna!" Marco had been possessed, that bed going at that speed would crush Janna when it reached her. Things were looking bleak, she had risked her friends lives for the sake of info and it wasn't gonna pay off. There was only one shot. Her Butterfly form. Star closed her eyes trying to will the power into existence.

"Lexi, stop!" A voice suddenly shouted in a firm tone.

The ghost stopped in his tracks, dropping the levitated items and halting the sliding bed, only meters away from Janna. "Eclipsa?"

Star opened her eyes when the name was spoken, all thoughts of Dipping Down forgotten. There, standing in front of a now open passageway under a painting in the wall, clad in her nightgown and slippers, was the Queen of Darkness.

* * *

Star let out a gasp of surprise, managing the wiggle free of the clock that was on top of her. "Eclipsa?"

The former queen stood defiantly in front of her ex husband, arms crossed. "Leave the children alone Lexi. Your quarrel is with me, not them."

He didn't seem to be paying her any attention, instead smirking sadistically, which looked oddly terrifying on Marco's face. "Just as beautiful as ever."

Eclipsa held firm, not amused. "Flattery gets you nowhere, like always."

The ghost was visibly upset by this snide remark, clenching his, well Marco's fists. "So you've been freed from your crystal? What about that savage you call a husband, find him yet?"

"Don't talk about him that way!"

"And why not!?" The words echoed across the room as Star and Janna watched the family drama go down from the sidelines. "You abandoned me, abandoned the kingdom and Festiva for him! Why? We meant that little to you?"

The woman sighed. "Lexi, I loved our daughter, which is why I left her with you. I knew the kingdom would need its queen and I knew you needed something to hold on to. I care for you, I just…"

"Care for them, care for him more," He finished. "I suppose I should have expected as much. I loved you since we were children, but you never once looked my way, you married me because you were forced to. The way you looked at him during the diplomatic meetings, how excited you looked when you were going off to "study". The way you looked at me that one last time. All the signs were there, I just refused to look at them."

Eclipsa said nothing for a moment, pity and sorrow shining in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Demeek's voice regained it's terrifying edge. "Sorry!? You don't know how it feels to love someone who will never feel that way for you."

For a moment, the words hung like a storm cloud. Eclipsa was unable to respond and looked down as the wind began to pick up again.

"I do." Star came forward gallantly and confidently, gazing up at the green eyed ghost. "It stinks, I know. It hurts deeply. But being angry at the world isn't gonna fix anything." She seemed to be staring past the Demeek's green eyes as she said this, almost like the words were meant for another person. "And trying to hang on, is more painful than letting go. If you love them, you'll do anything to make them happy, even if that thing is moving on." She paused. "When you really don't want to, deep down."

Demeek stared at the girl in utter disbelief, amazed a teenager could speak such wisdom and truth. Truth that had eluded him for centuries. The former king stared back and forth between his former queen and the future one, before letting out a melancholy sigh. Turning to Eclipsa, he looked at her with a last but of longing and regret. "I let you go."

She smiled, a real genuine smile. "Thank you. Goodbye, my friend."

He smiled as well, as the green light inside Marco began to flicker. "Goodbye, my love. He turned back to Star, flashing her a grateful look. "Thank you princess, but I need a mirror to take me back so I can pass on."

A mirror! Star dug in her purse and pulled out her compact mirror phone, opening it. "There you go, whenever you're ready."

The soul left Marco's body, which promptly and unceremoniously fell to the floor, Jana rushing to his side. The green soul of Alexander Demeek flew into the mirror, having finally let go of the thing anchoring him to the mortal plain. Star closed it once he was inside, rushing over to Marco.

"Marco! Marco!" The boy's brown eyes slowly fluttered open, a bit confused when Star and Janna tackled him into a hug.

"Star? Janna? What happened?" His voice was tired and groggy.

Janna laughed. "In short, you were possessed Diaz. Speaking of, Star could I keep that mirror as a souvenir? Everyone back home won't believe how crazy this night was."

Star shrugged, while letting go of Marco, tossing Janna the mirror phone. "Sure, I have a million of those things anyway."

"Sweet, haunted mirror. Poor Alfonso's gonna get the scare of his life."

Marco rolled his eyes, standing up. "Speaking of, I should probably take Janna home."

Janna rocked on her feet and looked at him mischievously. "And how are you gonna do that?"

"Uhh, with my…" Marco dug through his pockets only to find them empty. Janna smirked smugly, twirling the scissors on her finger as she ran away, down the long hallway. Shaking his head and smiling, he ran after the troublemaker. "Hey!"

Once the two were out of view, Star turned back to Eclipsa, who was smirking knowingly, still standing by the painting.

"So the speech was about the boy, wasn't it?"

"Yes. Wait no! Not anymore! I mean, I have a...he...we" Star became a stuttering mess as they hearts on her cheeks lit up a rosy pink.

"Whatever you say dear," the queen giggled.

Star forced the blush down and took a deep breath. Tonight hadn't gone as planned, they didn't get the statement from Demeek and the trial was fast approaching. And that meant there was only one thing to do. Before she could stop herself, she forced the words out. "Eclipsa, there's something important I need to tell you."

Eclipsa tilted her head, looking at the young princess curiously. "Yes, dear?"

"Your other daughter, Meteora. She's alive."

* * *

Episode 17B: Squire Smackdown- When Star is too busy to attend, Marco and Kelly bond over a not-so friendly competition with the squires.


	6. Special Short Episode : Celena the Shy

Heyo all! Today I have something a little special and a little different. A short ,special episode about, as her tapestry suggests, the most mysterious Queen of Mewni. Responses to reviews will be posted next chapter. Keep in mind, Celena is referred to as "Great-Great Grandma Shy", so this takes place 100 to 150 years before the events of the series. There are clues hidden in here about where the plot is headed. Now, without further adoo, the Episode Special!

* * *

Celena Butterfly sat at her observatory in her bed chamber as she always did, gazing up at the night sky, illuminated by the twin moons of Mewni. The 20 year old 's coronation had been two weeks ago now, and she'd still yet to leave her bedroom for more than a restroom visit. Everything was brought up to her, food, paperwork, records from meetings, people she needed to see. It was safe to say she was introverted, not really a social butterfly, so to speak. Not outgoing whatsoever, she chose to spend her time stargazing, reading, training with Glossaryk or her favorite activity, crafting potions.

She brushed a strand of her long, pink hair behind her ear, putting away her telescope momentarily. Gazing at the book on the table next to her cauldron, she sighed. "Glossy," she bellowed in her quiet voice.

It didn't take long for the little blue mage to come out of the book, bowing gracefully. "Yes, m'lady?"

Celena blushed, trying to cover it up. "I told you not to call me that, Celena is fine. All the attention that comes with..."

Glossaryk looked amused, a smug look on his face. "My liege, if I may, you don't seem to mind when Lord Masdan calls you that."

Another blush rose to her cheeks so rapidly, she actually had to bring up her wand, which was in the shape of a fan to cover it. She glared at her now chuckling mentor. "That's...different," she mumbled in annoyance.

Lord Nathaniel Masdan was a suitor of her's and had been for around two years now. Celena found the boy to be adorable, light and long brown hair, the brightest sky blue eyes and a rash, but fun loving, adventurous attitude. He was one of the few people she opted to willingly have conversations with. Rather than be put off by her often times antisocial behavior, he found it endearing and mysterious. He often came to visit her, usually through her tower window, where they would talk hours into the morning. Needless to say the young queen was quite smitten.

Sparing one last laugh at her expense, the teacher wiped a tear from his eye. "As you say, my queen. Now, what do you need?"

Regaining her composure, but letting out a little huff of annoyance that he used her royal title again, she gestured to the cauldron which was bubbling with a green liquid, over a flame. "I need to finish brewing this potion tonight, and..."

Glossaryk floated over next to her, suddenly interested. "Ohhhh, what're you brewing?" He sniffed it, before scrunching up his nose and frowning. "Smells delightful."

Celena rolled her eyes before beginning to stir the potion with the help of her spoon. "Imagine being able to trace anything back to a dimension. Anything from an article of clothing, a lock of hair, even a pair of dimensional scissor's complete history could be uncovered.

The keeper of the book nodded approvingly. "Sounds innovative." Truth was, Celena was an interesting pupil. She was a very smart girl, well woman now, but despite that, was not very magically gifted, strength speaking. She had yet to fully master spells with her wand, yet alone wandless magic. Yet, she applied herself in other ways, as she was the best potion crafter he'd ever seen in his centuries of teaching. "But it getting a bit late." Glossaryk yawned for good measure. "You did promise we'd try dipping down again tomorrow."

Celena sighed, remembering how she'd promised him that morning, so she could spend the day working on her potion. But stargazing had run a bit longer than she'd expected and now she was behind. It wasn't that she had no desire to improve and go stronger, she did. She knew all about her lack of significant magical ability, it had been a favorite topic of the High Commission. She just found solace in research and applying that research in a constructive manner, such as brewing, as opposed to blasting and blasting aimlessly. Plus, she'd tried a thousand times to do what Glossaryk called, "dipping down" and had yet to accomplish it, she highly doubted she would this time either.

"I'll tell you what Glossy. Watch me, make sure I stay awake as long as this takes, okay? This will require my full attention, can you do that?"

"You have my word...m'lady." He smirked again ad he bowed.

"Ugh, don't call me that!"

For the next half hour, the young queen continued to work feverishly on the potion. Mixing, stirring, adding, draining, sighing in frustration, repeat. Glossaryk stayed true to his word and watched over her, and entertained himself in a variety of ways, from air swimming, to eating a small portion of the good that had been brought to for Celena, with a cup of pudding for his efforts of course. The potion ciphered through many different colors, from green to blue, to pink, to red, to even yellow.

Celena wiped the sweat off her forehead, the heat from the cauldron stinging her eyes. Her body was starting to feel the fatigue of her long day, filled with signing paperwork and working tirelessly on this potion. She wiped off the droplets of sweat that had accumulated on the twin crescent moons on her cheeks as well. Despite the signs for her to relent, she did not, jumping backwards after adding a vial of a glowing blue substance, that caused a small explosion. She wasted no time in getting back to work. She was almost there, her weeks of work were finally going to pay off. The applications of this potion got her excited.

She was so absorbed in her work, she did notice that Glossaryk had long since fallen asleep, snoring softly next to a place of roasted corn. She didn't notice her own eyes growing heavy. Her decreased stirring speed and sudden fatigue. Her cheeks suddenly growing warm as the moons illuminated. The warm feeling of sleep finally winning her over as the whole work went black.

* * *

Celena awoke to the feeling of being watched, feeling the eyes burning onto her. The second thing she became aware of was her back was wet, along with her hair, reasoning she was lying face up inside of some sort of liquid. Although a bit confused, she sat up suddenly, ready to confront whoever was watching her, springing to her feet in a way that would rival that of Cresenta the Eager, her mother. She looked around, only to be met by the stares of unicorns. In fact, as she gazes around, she realized that this wasn't any place she recognized in Mewni.

It was a bright, colorful world, full of strange flora and fauna, with sprawling vines of plants she had never seen before all around and strange animals flying through the end. Celena looked back down at the liquid she had been lying in. It was gold and seemed to make up most of this strange, unknown world, almost like an ocean. The unicorns from before watched her curiously, apparently as confused as she was about all this. Finally one grew brave enough to approach her, quickly jumping on her and licking her face.

Despite not being one for affection and physical contact from animals, the queen couldn't help but laugh. "You're an adorable little thing aren't you?" She looked at the other unicorns who all joined in on the fun. Still laughing, she shook them off gently. "Alright, alright. Now do any of you know where I am?"

"Why, you're in the Realm of Magic miss," the green unicorn that had initially jumped on her stated in a high pitched, childish sounding voice.

"The Realm of Magic?" That was certainly no place in Mewni. It seems that after she and Glossaryk had fell asleep, Celena had been transported into another dimension entirely somehow. Instinctively feeling for her wand, she couldn't feel it on the side of her gown. She'd left it on her desk! The young queen began to panic, as the prospect of a magical solution became impossible, without both Glossaryk and the wand.

One if the unicorns, a red one looked out her curiously, obviously taking note of her sudden anxiety. "What's wrong? Wanna play to make you feel better?"

The others looked on hopefully, eagerly awaiting her answer. Her natural bashfulness began to take over, mixing in with her now intense worry. "Umm...I-I s-should really be getting h-" She trailed off as the oddest thing happened, she seemed to forget why she needed to leave. Her eyes seemed to glaze over and begin sparkling unnaturally bright. "What's the rush, let's play!" She shouted in a way completely unlike her. What was she like again? Eh, didn't matter.

"Yay!" The unicorns exclaimed, running off playfully. "You can't catch us!"

"Oh really?" Celena giggled like she was a little girl again, chasing after them. "I'm gonna get you!" All traces of her personality seemed gone as she made her away across the strange land, giggling the whole way through. The further and longer the queen was in here, the more she seemed to forget about herself. What was a queen?

The unicorns galloped across the ocean of strange yellow light, which was becoming deeper and deeper, as they were more swimming than running now, and it came up to Celena's waist. Still though, the young Butterfly pressed on, wading her way through and giving chase. "I've almost got you!" What was her name again? What even was a name? It was the strangest thing, a warm feeling in her brain that seemed to be filtering every other thought and memory out, every thought accept staying here and having fun that is. It would have been good for the Queen, she didn't get out much, but she was steadily losing herself.

The group dissappeared from view. Celena scanned the area for them, sparkling eyes fixed on the calm sea of gold. "Where'd they go?" The young queen was puzzled, which wasn't helped by the fact that the Realm was still making her loopy. She saw no sign of movement, continuing to glance around aimlessly.

Suddenly, a white unicorn popped up out of the water, turning to playfully taunt and spit at Celena, before diving back under. The pink haired queen giggled again, scoffing playfully. "When I get my hands on-" She trailed off as something caught her eye. Her attention span was virtually nonexistent now as she completely turned around, completely forgetting her pursuit of the unicorns, focusing on whatever this new phenomenon was.

There, along the banks of the ocean of gold, was another unicorn, though this one was beautiful in a different way than the others. It was larger, undoubtedly more physically mature than its brethren. While the others, were more bright colors, this one was a dark shade of violet, so much so, it was almost Gothic. It's eyes were the same shade, fixed on the strangely multicolored horizon.

"Ohhh, pretty," exclaimed Celena as she began wading towards the creature.

Turning it's head to the sudden intruder, the horse wasted no time in bolting away, running so fast it glided across the water like a boat. Seems as if it was startled.

Celena did her best to go after it, frantically wading her way through the deep liquid, determined not to let the current object that captivated her attention get away. "Come back!" Determination shined in her bright eyes as she began to run against the current, chasing the dark horse.

It didn't look back, nor relent, simply galloped like Celena intended to hurt it. She lingered behind it, just out of reach, as the depth seemed to become more shallow, allowing her to the ability to run again. The huntress and the hunted passed a number of what appeared to be strange, upwards flowing waterfalls. Waterups? Vertical columns of golden liquid, that sent the liquids upwards. They were enough to momentarily capture Celena's attention, but her focusing remained on catching the mysterious unicorn.

Overhead, swirling dark clouds loomed, almost like a storm was coming. Neither Celena nor the horse cared, as they were too rapped up in their game of cat and mouse. Soon the sky darkened completely, casting a shadow over them ad they ran. Finally, the purple unicorn stopped, gazing upwards at the sky, as if it were puzzled by this development.

"I really tired you out! I've got you," the quuen cried out in victory, stopping in front of it to catch her breath. The liquid began flowing like a current again, getting deeper and deeper, up to her waist again.

For the first time, the horse looked at her, and then something amazing happened. It spoke. "You shouldn't be here." The voice was so soothing, so motherly, it didn't sound like much of a desperate warning. "Run."

"What?" Celena looked down, feeling a change in temperature of liquid. Before it felt warm and relaxing, it now felt cold, almost unbearably so. Sure enough, it had also changed color, the warm gold gradually fading into a deep purple. "Splendid..." She was entranced by this new development.

The formerly gentle and calm current was replaced by choppy and increasingly strong waves. There was thunder in the distance, as if the looming storm had finally closed in on them. The unicorn looked at Celena again. "You need to run now, it happening. He's here."

The young queen titled her head, looking like a confused puppy. "Who here?" Suddenly, the unicorn was taken under any a wave, the force of which threw Celena backwards, as she struggled to remain above water. She had never learned to swim, as there was never a need, seeing as how she almost never left her room, let alone dived into any substantial bodies of water.

Perhaps it was the life threatening situation she found herself in, perhaps it was seeing the object of her attention washed away, but Celena's eyes lost their sparkle, reverting back to their normal color. Everything came flooding back, Glossaryk fell asleep, she must have too, her wand was back home, she was- she was lost! She was Celena Butterfly, daughter of Cresenta Butterfly and the current Queen of Mewni. Still struggling against the high tide, she frantically tried to doggie paddle as she felt the cold liquid splashing against her eyes, she was sinking, she was drowning. Another wave crashed against her back and she began to sink, deeper and deeper. She began seeing flashes of things as she dropped below the top of the sea. A crying baby being tossed into the arms of another, the strangest tail poking out of her bundle. The steadily cracking crystal of Eclipsa the Queen of Darkness. A finger. The silhouette of something large and dark closing in on a brown haired boy and a blonde girl. There was no time, rhyme or reason to these visions, as they continued to come without relent.

Suddenly, the clouds and sky seemed to crack open, patting as a massive hand reached down towards the water. It was large and monstrous, sharp claws forming the ends of the fingers, large enough to saw a boat in half.

[I]"To blackest night, I pledge my soul and crush my heart, to burning coal." An unfamiliar voice spoke gallantly.

Random snippets of conversations and voices continued to haunt her mind. They seemed to have no congruent order, seeming to jump all around history, some events Celena had read about, some she hadn't.

 _"She's a monster! We can't possibly hand her the single most powerful weapon in the universe!"_

" _Aim it directly at his heart."_

" _Eclipsa's alive, and I made a deal with her."_

" _Eclipsa is Heinous's mother!?"_

" _The Moon of Lovers..."_

The visions stopped as the hand reached for Celena, who had been sinking deeper and deeper, into the purple sea.

"Lost little Butterfly?" The voice was raspy and metallic, sounding almost robotic in nature.

Without warning, Celena found herself being pushed away from the hand that was reaching for her and towards the surface. Upon hitting it, she looked down at the liquid, to gaze upon her savior. It was the purple unicorn, the very same one she had been chasing earlier. It's purple gaze locked onto her. " I need you to repeat what I'm going to whisper to you, it's the only way you can escape. When you leave, reach for your wand back home. Understand?"

The young queen nodded and leaned in to hear what the horse had to say. She was nearly moved to tears as she dawned in revelation of what it meant. Reluctantly, she began to focus, closing her eyes and imagining her magic as Glossaryk told her to, a well, a well that she had to pump. She felt the burning sensationof her cheekmarks glowing. "For all the horrible things I've done, that one to remember. I'm the one to worship something over nothing,unicorn remember betrayal forever," she repeated, her voice a soft whisper in the face of the towering, pitch black creature above, she she lifted her hand, waving it on front of her in a strange gesture.

The unicorn began to fade into nothingness, but not before locking eyes with Celena one more time. " Remember those words. They are the only thing you can speak of that you've seen today. And just like that, she was gone. The young quuen began to cry, realizing that the unicorn had just sacrificed its life for her.

A bright pink light came down from the sky, as if the gods themselves had intervened, causing the creature to cry out in pain. The light surrounded her, and just like that, Celena's world was nothing but black once more.

[C]-

Celena awoke to Glossaryk floating over her, a concerned expression upon his face. "Celena, are you okay?"

She didn't respond, taking a moment to glance around, as it took a while for her to register where she was. Her bedroom. Home. Where she was safe. Everything that happened back in the Realm of Magic. That poor unicorn. Wait, the unicorn! The spell! The promise!

Glossaryk, confused by her lack of response, resorted to teasing. "Everything okay, m'lady," He asked, hoping that the nickname she hated would be enough to snap her out of whatever this was.

The young queen turned her back on him, walking towards the desk, her eyes fixed on the wand, as if this was the first time she'd seen it. It was then that he noticed she was drenched, the back of her dress clinging to her pale skin. Where had she been? She'd just dissappeared and reappeared out of nowhere. In all his years of existence, Glossaryk had seen nothing like it.

"My queen, where did you go?"

The queen stopped in her tracks upon reaching the desk. In that moment, she nearly decided to explain everything to Glossaryk. The Realm of Magic, the unicorns, the dark horse, the visions of what appeared to be a royal conspiracy amongst the family, the snippets of past and future, the dark figure, buy she didn't. She remembered the last thing the unicorn ever said to her. The unicorn that gave its life for her. So, she stayed silent, flipping the moon emblem in the center of the wand up, and gazing in. Inside, was a small purple unicorn, running on a treadmill, valiantly powering the wand itself. This realization nearly brought Celena to tears, and she gently shut the latch,

At this point, the little blue mage was floating over her shoulder, looking at the now closed wand, absolutely bewildered. A unicorn powering the wand? Never had he seen such a thing. What was going on? "Celena, wh-"

For the first time since returning home, Celena spoke, in that telltale quiet, almost whisper of a voice, that had spoken words of great power, not too long ago. "Glossy, may you please fetch the book? I think I've discovered a new spell."

* * *

 _What lies behind the golden fan_

 _her hand does sweetly hold?_

 _A trove of cosmic secrets_

 _never to be told._


	7. Episode 17B: Squire Smackdown

**Review Corner**

 **InfiniteClockWise- While I see where you're coming from, I feel it's justifiable for all these girls to have or develop a crush on Marco, based on their emotional states. Jackie seems to have grown very attached to Marco, and is shown to value their relationship very much, Janna's behavior is indicative of a girl who's seeking attention and trying to get it the only way they know how, Star is not as over Marco as she keeps telling herself she is, and Kelly, well, her reasoning will be explained here. As for Marco's pitfalls as a squire, this chapter will show it has its bright spots and dive more into Star's reasoning on that as well.**

 **Useful76- Thank you! That was a scene I had planned for for a very long time, glad I was able to convey the necessary emotion. And yes, Janna is a very strong character. The way I like to explain it is she's like a dam, but when the pressure gets to be too much, it breaks. I'm glad you're enjoying the changes, as I said before, the turning point rapidly approaches. And yes, Star is certainly going to relapse a bit ;) haha! And glad you enjoyed the Celena episode, it will be very important down the line.**

 **allen Vth- Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed that scene, and her character was definitely the highlight of the episode. And of course, Star is showing signs, making her more confused than ever. They may have failed to get the statement, but it's nice to know you still felt fulfilled by the chapter. As for this chapter, you didn't really think I'd leave Higgs as a one off character, did you? ;) There will definitely be a clash of epic proportions amongst the squires. Kelco will be addressed this episode ,but time will tell whether Kelly ends up in the same boat as Janna. Celena definitely lives up to her title, glad I was able to pull that off. Haha, thanks for pointing out the mistakes, somehow missed them in editing. And yes! Glad you caught that! Fun fact, I actually listened to the scene where the Whispering Spell was recited to hear the exact words eight times.**

 **OMAC001- Thank you! I won't disappoint!**

 **Jack Coffison- Thank you. Glad you're enjoying it thus far. I intended for this story to be more character driven, with an overarching plot. I feel like these type of stories allow for character studies, introspection, and character development, all of which is really helped by the "shipping" element of things. I'm glad you mention Marco's arc, as I felt it was something to show was leading up to in Season 3A, after 'Lava Lake Beach', but scrapped it to focus more on plot in 3B. I'm attempting to balance both, and glad you think I have done so thus far.**

 **As for Star, her journey has been a joy to write. If in Seasons 1 and 2 Star ran away from her problems, now she faces them head on, but too quickly, without really thinking about the long term consequences of her actions, and this will come up several times. The quick fix isn't always the best fix. As for Starco, both characters need to sort out their individual issues and accept them before they can sort out this barrier of awkwardness between them. But the gears are certainly turning, we'll see who cracks first. This was so fun to write! Thank you, you have a good day as well!**

 **Star's Keyblade4114- Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it! And yes, I can see how this can be a bit a bit hard to follow, with all the crushes. However, this chapter will shed some light on that, and things will be less complicated by the end. Process of elimination.**

 **TheSnowflake18- Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it haha! And yes, they'll be a couple more specials for other queens, most of the time, there's something important hidden in them as vague clues for future events. Solaria is definitely too interesting to pass up.**

 **Ello all! This is a chapter I've been itching to write, especially after a recent trip to Medieval Times. Sorry this chapter is so late, combination of school, being sick for a while and a hurricane knocking my power out. We're getting close to the major turning point, and many of you can probably guess what event that is. Now, without further ado, Episode 17B!**

* * *

Marco Diaz winced slightly as he pushed his breastplate into place. Putting on armor was still a new experience for the squire. He'd never worn it, not even in his sixteen years of fighting Hekapoo, preferring to be more free and open, as opposed to the sometimes restricting and clunky armor. Nevertheless, he looked to his friend for approval. Kelly was the expert in this sort of stuff, after all. "How do I look?"

The blue haired girl looked him up and down, rubbing her chin with a hand, as if she was thinking. The armor itself was the standard steel, a colorless grey, but it was effective as what is was designed for, protection. Kelly had insisted on taking Marco "armor shopping" because apparently, that was a thing in Mewni. As was custom, squires wore the symbols of their knights into battle. So, she and Marco painted the symbol of the Royal Family, crest, the Butterfly on the center of the breastplate, in their official color of royal blue, to signify his allegiance to them, namely to Star.

Kelly smirked playfully, hiding something behind her back. "Hmmm, I dunno. I feel like it's something's missing." She quickly slipped the helmet onto his head. The visor slowly came down to cover his eyes. "Like a true knight."

Marco suddenly began thrashing about, like a mad man. "I can't see! Everything suddenly went dark!"

"Lift the visor up, silly. " She pushed it up and his vision returned.

"Oh." He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, before turning to look at her once again.

Kelly too, was wearing armor, which wasn't surprising considering the occasion. Her's was a darker black though, with a red scarf, hanging around her neck on the outside. Her hair was in a ponytail, which hung out of an opening in her helmet. She wore combat boots as well, dressed for war.

Marco gave a thumbs up in approval. "You look great too."

The armor hid her light pink, rosy blush. "Thanks."

"Hey, I just wanted to thank you for agreeing to be my partner, I mean, it was kind of short notice, and I only got to practice for a week and…" He'd asked Star to give him a week off to train for the Squire Games, and surprisingly, she agreed without much hesitation. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to be his partner, as it was a tournament of duos. Ever since the incident with Demeek, Star had been more focused than ever on preparing for the trial, shutting herself in her room for hours on end, mysteriously disappearing at times. Truth be told, it hurt she couldn't be here, but he understood. The trial was her number one priority right now, and rightfully so.

Kelly shrugged, dismissing his concerns with a wave of her hand. "It's fine, Marco. I wasn't gonna pass this up. I mean when's the last time we hung out? You've just been so busy with Star lately." She likely didn't mean for that to come out like it did. "Besides, you're Marco Diaz, Champion of the Trials of Hekapoo, I think you can handle this."

As if on queue, royal fanfare began to blare, the booming but elegant sounds of the trumpets echoed from the arena outside. This signaled the start of the competition.

"Thanks, Kelly." Marco grinned as the iron door began to slowly lift up. He held out his fist. "Dream Team?"

Kelly grinned in response before bumping his fist, the sound of metal on metal echoing throughout the small, narrow corridor. "Dream Team."

High above the battlegrounds and even the elevated stands, King River stood in the royal box. The two chairs to his right were empty, as neither Star nor Moon were able to attend, both far too busy gathering evidence for their respective sides for the upcoming trial. Poor Moonpie, she was working herself into the ground. Nevertheless, there was still an event to be managed. "Welcome one and all…" He spoke in his best "regal" voice, trying to sound as kingly as possible. "To the 667th annual, Squire Games!"

The crowd roared with a mixture of approval and anticipation as the squires came charging out of their respective corners, like football players preparing for the Homecoming Game. There was such a buzz, that River abandoned his kingly facade, letting his Johansen side fully hang out. "What better way to prove they're ready for knighthood than on the glorious field of battle!?"

The crowd was at a fever pitch, roaring again in satisfaction. Among them, sat both Tom and Pony Head. Pony had a battle axe for a horn, to commemorate the violence of the spectacle.

"Start the killing already! I didn't take off partying at St. Olga's to see a greeting card party!

Slightly creeped out, Tom continued eating his popcorn. "You do know anyone hardly ever dies in these things..."

"All the more reason why this the year!" She rolled her eyes. "Maan, B-Fly's really missing out, I mean battle is totally her thing."

The demon fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat. "Uh yeah, right." Truth be told, he had mixed feelings about Star not being there. It wasn't like he didn't like his girlfriend's company, in fact, he craved it more than ever. Star had been really busy the last couple months. Canceling dates, not being able to make dinner with his parents, heck, they'd only been on one date since the Library of Secrets, and that was like three months ago! But at the same time, if she'd came, she'd be competing alongside Marco. Marco. Tom tried not to have any ill will towards his friend, but Star just seemed to spend all of her time with him. He was just always there. They lived together, he was the one who she involved in whatever was going on. It may have been because he was her squire, but they had been "just friends" on Earth, yet Star developed a crush on him. So, it relieved him a bit to know that at least she wasn't with Marco.

Pony Head paid no mind to Tom's strange behavior, caught up in the excitement. "Go Kelly and Earth Turd!"

Back up in the royal box, River tapped his staff again the wood loudly to get the attention of the audience. "Now, without further ado, let the first challenge, the joust, begin!"

* * *

Star stared down at her tea, stirring it gently with her spoon. The girl stared absentmindedly at her reflection in the beige liquid.

"Globgore, Globgore!" Glossaryk was going to town on the biscuits that had been left uneaten on the tray.

Eclipsa sat opposite Star, legs crossed. She sat down her own tea on the table, looking over at Star. "I can't believe my little Meteora is still out there. All alone." She frowned, looking over at the tower window.

Star suddenly snapped out of her momentary daze. "Uhhh, yeah! I tried talking to her at the Monster Temple, but she just wouldn't hear me out." Seeing Eclipsa's expression, she quickly backtracked. "But that's why we have to win this trial, she'll definitely listen to you."

The former nodded in agreement, before tearing her gaze from the window and back to Star. "How did you manage to escape? She sounded very powerful from what you said."

"Oh, I Dipped Down."

"You what?"

"Dipped Down? You know, dipped down into the chunks?" When she saw it wasn't ringing a bell, she moved in from that old analogy. "I used wandless magic, when I do that, I can use this yellow Butterfly Form."

Eclipsa finally seemed to understand. "Oh, magic without a wand? I never learned that. Glossy kept trying to teach me, but I was far too busy experimenting with dark magic to have time to learn. And then there was- Are you alright dear?"

The princess had spaced out again, going right back to staring at the murky reflection in her cup of tea. "Oh, um….yeah! Totally, totally, totally!"

"You seem a bit distracted dear, what's the trouble?"

Star sighed, turning her gaze back to Eclipsa. "It's just, the Squire Games are today and I'm a little worried about Marco."

"Ah, that's what this is about. From what you've told me, he seems quite capable, I'm sure he'll be able to handle himself fine."

The blonde still looked a bit uncertain. She couldn't shake this strange feeling of uneasiness that seemed to bubble in the pit of her stomach. It was true, Marco could handle himself just fine, through all the countless battles against Ludo and his goons and managing to hunt down Hekapoo in that 16 year trial. Kelly was a capable fighter as well, her skills with a sword were amazing, besting Star who had been trained since childbirth each and every time they sparred. They were probably the frontrunners to win, matter of fact. But Star's uneasiness was...different. She was definitely worried about **something** , she just couldn't put her finger on what.

She shook her head, snapping herself out of her thoughts. "Yeah you're right, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about." She couldn't afford to get so distracted anyway. The trial was a week away now, and she still wasn't quite satisfied with the evidence that she'd managed to gather. Nirobus was still an enigma, Demeek hadn't revealed anything she didn't already know, besides Eclipsa abandoning her husband and daughter, which really wasn't the best look. Her mom and the Commission had centuries worth of evidence to draw from. All Star had was one secret she was never supposed to learn. But that wasn't enough, she'd need something to combat the allegations that would surely come Eclipsa's way. "Eclipsa, I need to ask you an important question."

"Ask away dearie."

Star paused, knowing that if her mom was here, she'd have a fit that she was asking Eclipsa of all people this question. But it was important, Star had read and even used dark magic before and it hadn't really affected her in any way. If the Commission wanted to claim it was evil, what better way to prove them wrong than to know where it comes from? "Where does dark magic come from?"

Eclipsa grinned and bounced up and down excitedly. "I'm so glad you asked! Not many people take an interest in the dark arts. Though, it is a bit of a loaded question."

* * *

Kelly made sure to tighten the reins on Marco's warnicorn, ignoring the steed's cries of protest. "Alright, that should be good,"She said as she turned back to her partner, who was still eying his lance nervously. "Uhhh Marco?" He looked up when she called his name, trying to play off his anxiety. "Are you sure you don't want me to do this one? Me and Jorby do stuff like this all the time."

Before he could even respond, Marco was greeted by a voice he hoped he'd never hear again. "Didn't expect to see you here, nerd. Thought you'd be too busy feeding your princess grapes or something."

The human turned around slowly, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. Sure enough, he spotted the familiar crop of red hair and the sea green eyes, since she had her visor up. "Higgs."

The squire in question smirked. "Your knight couldn't even be bothered to show up, that's gotta sting. Though, you aren't even a real squire, you don't belong here anyway."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Kelly stepped forward at Marco's side, fists clenched at her sides. "Maybe you didn't get the memo, but Marco helped save Mewni, fought valiantly against Ludo's rats, and faced Toffee head on. Where were you?"

Higgs's smirk became a scowl in Kelly's direction, before she regained her cocky composure. "And who are you? Wow nerd, the princess dumps you and you replace her that quickly? Shameful."

This time it was Marco who spoke up, stepping forward, right into Higgs's face. "She couldn't have dumped me if we were never a thing! And we…" He gestured to himself and Kelly. "Aren't either!" He crossed his arms, smirking. "And who'd you bring as a partner? Baby-Man? Old Guy? They aren't really knight material."

"Actually…" Another armored figure came forward. It was a boy, tall and muscular, messy black hair in plain sight, due the fact he wasn't wearing a helmet. "I'm Sir Skarsguard's squire. Name's Xavier. May the best squire win out there." He walked away, tossing on his helmet.

Higgs walked away as well, giving the pair a smug look ad she turned to prepare for the joust.

Kelly looked up at Marco who was practically seething with rage. "Uhhh, Marco? Are you going out there for the-"

"Oh, I'm going out there! I'll show her!" The Latino grabbed his lance, hopping on his warnicorn.

The sound of the trumpet blaring signified another announcement from the king.

"Ladies and-" River was cut off by the sound if Manfred continuing to play the horn. "Ladies and-" Once again, Manfred continued playing his regal solo. River frowned and waited a moment, and an awkward, long silence ensued. Feeling confident it was over, the king cleared his throat to continue. "L-" The horn began blaring again, on queue. "Manfred!"

"Sorry sire." He set down the horn.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The first challenge is about to be underway! The matchmakers will set to work, setting up matches between the squires, that is, unless there are any personal challenges-"

"I have a challenge!" Marco stepped forward, pushing past the other squires to be acknowledged. He looked confident and sure of himself, which was odd for the usually insecure human.

There was a collective gasp and murmuring among both the squires and the crowd, surprised that the Earth boy was willing to call someone out by name. Pony Head and Tom shared a concerned glance, a cocky Marco led to bad things, that was for sure.

Even River, who knew of Marco's more brave and heroic moments, was mildly surprised. "Alright, Marco, who do you challenge?"

The boy grinned, kneeling in respect for the king but getting to his feet in an instant. "Well, my liege, I challenge, Higgs, squire to Sir Stabby." He didn't falter at all in his sentence, intent of proving himself to everyone here.

The excited murmurs became full on pandemonium. Challenging another knight's squire usually signified a spat between, that knight and that of the squire who issued the challenge. Knights rarely ever fought directly. Sir Stabby, who had been living up to his namesake, sharpening a sort, rose to his feet in the knight's box, outraged. "You what!? What problem does your knight have with me?"

That really set Marco off. Everything he said, everything he did, got tied back to Star somehow. Like he didn't have his own life without her or something. Things had already been weird enough between them, as he felt like nothing more than a servant at times, and not necessarily a friend. Not everything he did had to revolve around her, despite the fact he'd be willing to do anything for her, if the situation called for it. "Why, nothing Sir Stabby. This is a personal issue. You see, ever since I became a squire, I've been getting nothing but disrespect, from the knights and squires alike. Higgs had been leading the charge, and quite frankly, I'm tired of it." His tone was firm and unwavering.

Kelly elbowed him in the ribs sharply. "What are you doing?" She whispered through a false smile.

Marco glared at the red haired squire through his visor. "Setting things right."

Higgs returned the glare, her cold green eyes narrowing and conveying a sense of malice. "I accept your challenge."

Sir Stabby was still quite riled up. "Victory is a must Higgs! This disrespect must not go unanswered! Not while you're wearing my symbol!"

She nodded. "Yes Sir Stabby." Her voice was hoarse and quiet, as she put her visor down.

The crowd roared with anticipation, stomping their feet as both squires went back to their respective sides. An added layer to the fight, a personal issue. That would certainly make this more interesting.

Marco mounted his warnicorn, putting his visor down as Manfred began to play his regal solo, more furiously this time. The Johansens in attendance view their warhorns, the low sound fitting the intensity and thick tension of the coming battle. This was much more than an annual formality now, this was a fight for respect, for honor.

Higgs mounted her warnicorn, and Xavier handed her a shield, with the symbol of Sir Stabby, the crossed swords, with a red and black crest, painted on. In her other hand, her metal lance glistened in the Mewman Sun. She put her visor down, tuning out the ruckus crowd and focusing on the task in front of her.

Kelly handed Marco his rectangular shield hesitantly. "Be careful, kay?" She fidgeted with the straps on her armor nervously, as the warnicorn went trotting towards the jousting area.

River's kingly demeanor had been completely lost in the excitement and buzz, as he ripped off his shirt and grabbed his spear. "This joust will be between Marco Diaz, squire to Princess Star Butterfly and Higgs Carlisle, squire to Sir Stabby! LET THE JOUST BEGIN!" The horns sounded.

Marco kicked the warnicorn in the side lightly as it began its gallop across the grounds. "Tally- WOAH!" He bounced up and down, as the reins weren't as secure as they could have been. The boy held the cold metal of the shield against his chest with one hand, and readied his lance with the other, as he saw his opponent speeding towards him. Forty yards. Thirty. Twenty. His heart nearly beat out of his chest with anticipation. He'd have one shot at this, his best chance would be to try and drive as much force into her shield as possible, possibly crack it and knock her off. Though it would be hard to garner enough strength to do that on horseback, he'd have to lean forward a bit, momentum was everything. Marco would have to wait though, doing so too early would give away his plan. Fifteen years, ten years…...Now! He let go of the reins a little, leaning forward and drawing hack his arm preparing to strike with the heavy lance. However, he was not prepared for what happened next.

Higgs seemed to be anticipating this ,as she slammed her shield into his arm, hard, the sound of metal hitting bone causing a sickening sound. With her free hand, she slammed her lance into his shield cracking it. More importantly, these two devastating blows caused Marco's already out of-whack balance to falter completely, and the human was sent flying off his warnicorn before he could register what had just occurred. He landed on his back with a heavy thud, hitting his head against the hard ground.

The crowd went silent for a moment, upon seeing the human squire hit the ground. Pony and Tom both grimaced at the sight, holding in a breath in concern for their friend.

"Marco!" Kelly immediately ran to his side, as the stray warnicorn continued to run around the arena aimlessly. "Marco! Oh my god, that was a horrible fall! Are you okay?" She shook him by the arm, gently.

Luckily, the armor had absorbed most of the impact, but the sheer force of the fall was enough to knock the wind out of him. Marco set up his visor slowly, shakily glancing at Kelly, still shaken from his swift and rather decisive defeat. "I...think so."

Higgs came riding by, taking a victory lap. She'd removed her helmet, riding around the arena with one arm raised in victory. Her green gaze landed on the defeated Marco on the ground and her lips pressed together in a cruel smirk. "It's like I said, you don't belong here." She rode off, back on her victory lap, managing to stir the crowd which snapped out of its momentary silence, cheering for the victor. Marco glared daggers into her back. He may have dropped the ball on this one, but there would be other opportunities.

Kelly helped him to his feet, patting him on the shoulder as she did. "We'll get em, still plenty of challenges left." She held out her fist, smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "Dream Team?"

The boy didn't hesitate, pounding it. "Dream Team."

Higgs easily ran the table with the rest of the competition, defeating her opponents quite handily. She beat Baby-Man so bad in fact, that she slammed him against the arena wall and he was carted away after proclaiming he could taste the stars. She and Xavier were promptly named the winners of the challenge, as partners shared credit for the other partner's victory. Sir Stabby looked in approval with a curt nod.

The next challenge was something Marco had limited experience with, archery. The servants trotted onto the battlefield to prepare the targets. Classic bullseye. It wasn't like he'd never used a bow before, he'd done some of everything during Hekapoo's Trials. But it wasn't something he did a lot, and this he didn't remember how to do it very well. They couldn't afford to tank another challenge if they still hoped to win this thing.

Kelly must have seen the anxiety written on his face. "Why don't I take this one?"

He looked to his companion, uncertain. "Are you sure?"

She gave him a thumbs up and stepped in line with the other squires who were competing in the challenge. Surprisingly, Old Guy had done the best so far, landing two rings below the center. No other squire managed to match this feat, either just sneaking it along the bottom, or not getting it on target at all. When it came to Xavier's turn, the tall squire took a deep breath, taking the bow and arrow from the servant. He stepped back a bit and drew the string back, lining up the shot. He just stood there for a moment, not releasing until he seemed to be absolutely sure. Suddenly, he drew back in a flash and the arrow entered the wood right above the bullseye, missing by one ring.

The crowd went absolutely crazy, save for Pony and Tom who didn't see how Kelly would have any chance of beating that shot.

Even the knights were impressed, sitting on the edge of their seats, as the contest began to grab their full attention.

"What a shot!"

"That young lad's got promise."

"He'd make a great knight some day…"

Sir Skarsguard simply gave an approving grunt, putting up a thumbs to express what he thought of the shot. Higgs have Xavier a pat on the back but not before turning towards Marco, wearing a smug expression. "Wonder how your girlfriend's gonna beat that, nerd."

He felt his eye twitch, holding his fists against his sides tightly. "Do you just assume every girl you see me with is my girlfriend? I told you we aren't a thing!"

"You got rejected? Sad."

"No!" He needed a way to fire back, and he knew just what to go. Glancing between she and Xavier, who was out of earshot, a devious smirk formed on his lips. "I'm not the one with a crush on my partner."

Her smirk disappeared as she frantically put her helmet back on to hide the rosemary blush that began creeping its way up. "What!? S-shut up! I have no idea what you're talking about." Her voice was unsteady and shaky, as if she was trying to convince herself.

He crossed his arms, putting his back foot against the nearby wall for support. "Riiiight, that's why you've been ogling him the whole contest?"

Higgs went from flustered to furious on a matter of moments, slamming her armored hand against the wall, near Marco's head and jabbing a finger into his chest with the other. "Drop it nerd, now. Or else."

He didn't falter, a steely determination etched onto his face. Raising an eyebrow curiously, he decided to poke the bear. "Or what?"

"Or else the next time I knock you on your butt, you'll need a stretcher to cart you off."

"Too bad that won't be happening anymore. I'm tired of taking this from you, when I win, I'll be the closest to becoming a knight. I'll prove I belong here, just as much-scratch that. More than you."

The rivals are unconsciously began getting getting closer to each other as the spat intensified, so much so they were almost nose to nose. Suddenly, Higgs smirked, as her glare softened a bit.

"How about a wager? To make things more interesting."

"Alright, what are the stakes?"

"You wanna prove yourself, I want to prove you don't belong. Well, if you two win, I'll leave you alone and concede that you belong as a squire. But if **we** win-" She paused momentarily for emphasis. ""You, have to give up your squirehood."

Under normal circumstances, Marco would have never entertained the thought of such a challenge. But this was no such occasion. Adrenaline, determination and rage where pumping through him, feeding him energy. This was the ultimate opportunity he'd been waiting for. To prove he belonged. And if he couldn't do that, maybe he didn't. Star was going down a rabbit hole of danger, with Meteora and trying to end a centuries old conflict, and she'd need someone capable at her side to help her through it. And if he couldn't win some tournament, what use would he be? They weren't fighting Ludo and his band of misfits anymore, this was Meteora, who could have been even more powerful than Toffee was, and Marco was useless in that endeavor as well. This was it. All or nothing.

"I accept." He didn't hesitate, meeting her gaze with a determined glare.

"This is gonna take more than that. Swear on your honor as squire, and on your knight's honor.

Marco's eye contact didn't waver. He brought his right hand over his heart, as if he was preparing to recite the pledge. "I, Marco Diaz, solemnly swear on my honor as a squire of the Butterfly Kingdom, and on the distinguished honor of my knight, Princess Star Butterfly." He rose to his feet and stuck out his hand, as a way to informally confirm the wager.

Higgs chuckled as she gripped his hand, slowly shaking it, before dropping it. "So you did your homework. May the best squire win, nerd. Though we all know who will."

"Yeah, we do."

The two squires suddenly became aware of the sudden silence that enveloped the arena. Confused, they glanced around only to find a wide eyed, stunned crowd. A minute prior, they'd be deafening over Xavier's shot, but now, one could hear a pin drop. The Latino glanced at the line of competitors, which had devolved into a disorganized mob. They looked shell-shocked, mouths agape.

Old-Guy was the one to break the silence, raising a shaking finger and pointing at the target ahead. "I-Impossible!" The other squires began murmuring under their breath, clearly caught off guard.

Even Xavier, who had been the most level-headed of the bunch throughout the competition thus far, lost his cool composure. "No way…"

"Never thought I'd see the day…."

"I might just drop out at this point…."

There stood Kelly, bow in hand, drawstring back, arrow in the direct center of the target. Bullseye. A perfect shot. There was no way anyone would be able to one-up that. That pretty much wrapped that one up. She seemed rather unaffected by her success, simply handing her bow over to a royal servant casually.

Her partner, however, was anything but casual. "Kelly, that was amazing! I thought you were a swordsman!"

She lifted her hands and shoulders in a small shrug. "I am. But my family is into hunting. A sword really isn't the most practical thing when hunting boar."

"We're on the board,that's a win!"

River's Johansen side was on full display. He shirt had been long discarded, leaving him in nothing but his crown and loincloth. The king leapt onto the edge of the stands, clearly enjoying his newfound freedom, now that Moon wasn't there. He raised his spear in the air, playing to the crowd, especially his Johansen kin amongst the. "What a shot! That will go down as a win for the Squires of Princess Butterfly! This contest is certainly shaping up to be a classic of a battle! Squire, tally the point!"

"Yes, my lord." Bennington, the official royal squire trotted over to the literal massive board, all the way down the spiraling stadium stairs. He was panting by the time he reached the bottom, the exertion seemingly too much, for the not-so physically fit squire. "I'm almost-" Everyone simply watched and waited as he slowly stumbled his way over towards the board.

Marco checked his imaginary watch. It had been like five minutes already. How had this guy ever managed to become a royal squire? There was no way he met the physical requirements. If this guy could be a squire, so could he.

Kelly had begun fidgeting in her boredom, twirling one of her many daggers between her fingers and catching it, playing a sort of game of chance. "Is he still not there yet?"

Up in the audience, Pony Head had buried her head into the pink and blue cotton candy she ordered, absentmindedly swinging the battle axe attached to her horn against her seat. "Can we just get on with it!? I came to be entertained!"

She swung the axe dangerously close to Tom, who shifted all his weight to his left to avoid getting decapitated. "Could….you be more careful with that thing?" Though, even he had to admit that this extended pause in the action had sort of killed the excitement that had been built up. He was anxious to see what would happen next, completely captivated by the competition. More than anything, he wanted Kelly and Marco to win. He knew how seriously the latter took his squire duties. Star once told him Marco spent almost 8 hours searching stores on Mewni for a brand of breakfast cereal. Talk about dedication. Though, thinking of the gesture made the cornshake in his stomach twirl a bit. The fact that he would spend so long, busting his butt for something so small, worried Tom. It was things like that, that made him question the depth of Marco's feeling towards his "knight." Nah, Marco wouldn't do that to him. He just had a tendency to take everything seriously, and work tirelessly until he accomplished it. He'd planned, managed, invited the guests and baked the cake for Star's party a couple months back. Even imported a mariachi band from Earth, somehow. He was just a good friend. Friend. Just a friend.

Eventually, Bennington reached the board, sweat pouring off him and looking ghostly pale. He jumped, trying to reach the top of the board, to no avail. "Hut, hut, hut…." His jumps barely got him off the ground, as he had no leg strength left to speak of. Two knights, on either side of the board lifted him up by his legs. Finally, he marked a tally next to the Butterfly symbol, giving Marco and Kelly the point.

River cleared his throat to regain the crowd's attention. "Thank you, Bennington. He needs the medic, someone get him to the medical wing right away. Anyways, two challenges in and it looks like we already have a real barnburner taking shape. But this.., is where we separate the real squires, from the paper ones." Marco and Higgs glared daggers at each other when those words were spoken. "The third challenge promises to be the most difficult yet. As knights, you will sometimes be called upon to defend the kingdom from both man and beast. This beast proved to be elusive to even the mighty hunters of the Johansen Kingdom. The feared Black Spotted Bog Wyvern!"

The knights quickly turned the lever to open the large armored cage, a still blackness visible on the other side of it. For a moment, nothing happened, as there was no sign of the beast. The calm was eerie, unsettling even. Marco felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, as he stood there, heart racing on a mixture of anticipation and fear. Kelly was in a similar boat, nervously pulling on a strand of her hair with one hand, sword clutched tightly in the other. Xavier held his axe firmly, determined gaze locked on the darkness ahead, though his hands held a small, but noticeable tremble. Even the usually confident Higgs was visibly terrified, looking nervous and extremely on edge.

A knight looked at the pitch black nothingness, and decided to investigate the cause of the holdup. "Nothings happening." He left his post, peering into the dwelling. "I'm gonna stand unnecessarily close to the-AHHHH!" He was cut off as he was smacked against the wall, by a long, reptilian tail. The Wyvern emerged from the cave, it's eyes beady and a deep yellow, almost gold in color. It was scaly, a thick hide coating it like some kind of primal armor. It was a strange deep green color, easy to blend in with the water and greenery of the bog. It let out what sounded like the combination of a snarl and a mighty roar, glaring at the squires in its midst. It's leathery wings unfolded from its back, but it made no move to take flight.

Marco swallowed a lump in his throat as the beast continued to stare them down, gazing discreetly at his partner who wore a similar awestruck expression. "You brought a bigger sword, right?"

* * *

"Dark magic is a difficult concept to explain," Eclipsa began, pacing around the room a bit. "It isn't as cut and dry as being an evil counterpart to "regular magic". There's nothing really evil about it at all. After all, if someone were to use a spell to harm someone, just say, a normal spell, does that make them evil?"

Star shook her head without hesitation. As many times as she'd used her wand on Monsters, it would be hypocritical to say anything else. "No."

"It's all about intent dear. There are two ways of attaining dark magic. For the first and most conventional way,one must bend the laws of natural magic. This requires a lot of practice, tinkering and experimentation, and knowing how to use emotion to change the nature of spells. The next way, is a sort of short cut. All magic comes from somewhere, that includes dark magic, or magic that disobeys the laws of conventional magic. It's difficult to find, but not if you know where to look. Between you and me…" Eclipsa began speaking playfully in a hushed tone. "That's what I did."

The princess looked at her grandmother curiously, cocking her head to the side. "Isn't that wrong? I mean, the High Commission must enforce the rules of Magic for a reason…"

"All knowledge is good knowledge. If it's out there, use it. We both know, the High Commission can be unreasonable. You saw how I was treated when I was first uncrystallized. If it wasn't for you, I'd be right back in there right now."

"That's….true." From what she'd seen so far, their fears were pretty unwarranted. It was becoming more and more apparent that Eclipsa was the black she applied of the family because of her relationship with monsters, more than anything. "But my Mom, she said that the spell felt evil." Star could remember the story Moon had relayed to her when they were on the run together. About how she had turned to Eclipsa for guidance in her last ditch attempt to kill Toffee, and how sinister and dark the magic had felt before it left her wand. It traumatized her, as she had once viewed Eclipsa the same way Star did.

Eclipsa shrugged. "Her intent was to kill something immortal, I just honored her request. She paid the price, my freedom. Though dark magic comes with another small price, but I won't bore you with that. Dear?"

Star was staring off into space again, not catching the tail end of that comment. "What!? Oh yeah, right." She giggled uneasily, the false grin she forced on her lips fading as soon as it formed.

Eclipsa shook her head, batting her eyelashes at her granddaughter playfully. "You're really worried for him aren't you?"

"No….yes? No? I dunno! I just feel really uneasy for some reason, like something's….wrong. It's weird."

"Well you could also check for yourself. You did read my chapter, right?"

"Yes, but I don't think Mom would approve of me-"

"Your mother doesn't even want you to be here." The former queen met the future one's eye, mischief twinkling within them. "If it were up to her, I'd be in a crystal now, spending the rest of my days in that prison. Plus, you've used it before right? Did anything bad come of it?"

Star looked down at the wand in her hand, mulling over the words. She had a point, the spying spell itself never actually caused any direct harm, it's just what she was seeing didn't do much to help those situations. The….incident at the graveyard with Marco and Jackie led to Ludo stealing the spellbook, trying and eventually locating Glossaryk in the cave bummed her out for quite a while. Then there were all the **other** times, over the summer when Marco's nacho cheese scent just couldn't seem to leave her mind. When she checked up on him, just a couple times. Seeing how he was doing. Everytime she picked him up, he didn't seem to be feeling the sting from their separation as much as she was, he hung out with Janna Alfonso and Ferguson, went on dates with Jackie, and went about life as normal. As if nothing happened. As if she'd never been there. So, needless to say, that wasn't the happiest of times either. Still, she couldn't let whatever this all-consuming feeling was go on, and it wouldn't stop until she was reassured.

"You're….right. No harm in checking in."

Eclipsa grinned approvingly, folding her hands as she waited for Star to cast the spell.

The princess in question closed her eyes, standing up from her comfortable seat. Glossaryk almost seemed to sense what was about to happen, scampering off the tray of biscuits. She took a deep breath, as if preparing herself. The words of power were engraved into her memory by now, so that wouldn't be an issue. Star raised the wand the required amount, as a chill draft began to sweep through the room. "I summon the All-Seeing Eye. To tear a hole into the sky. Reveal to me that which is hidden. Unveil to me what is forbidden."

The telltale swirling purple and gold mist streamed from the wand as soon as the last verse was complete, contorting until a portal formed. For a moment, it showed nothing in particular, until Star focused on what she wished to see, the Squire Games. Almost immediately, the darkness was replaced by a crystal clear image. Marco and Kelly, on their heels, running from what looked like a dragon. But instead of being terrified, they were grinning? Kelly stopped running and turned around, pulling several daggers from her belt and hurling them at the creature. It was more of an annoyance than anything, for they clattered harmlessly against its thick hide. The beast narrowed its eyes at the blue haired girl, opening his mouth and unleashing a column of green flame, that would have engulfed her. However, a flash a color entered the fray, rolling in front of Kelly, and covering the pair of them with a metal shield. Marco. Though he promptly dropped the shield, after filling how hot it had become. His partner flashed him a grateful smile, before they dived out of the way of another incoming stream of flame.

There was something about that movement that made Star feel a sense of nostalgia that tickled her heart. It was so, seamless. The two of them seemed to be moving on the same wavelength without even trying, and having fun all the while. For some reason, this was bittersweet to the blonde, her blue eyes wanting to both shine with jubilation, and to well up with tears. That used to be her and Marco. Before everything. Warding off Ludo without a care in the world. The trip down memory lane didn't last however, as the Earth boy quickly jumped onto the dragon's back, trying to stab it, sword in hand. Unfortunately, the hide was too thick for the blade to find an entry point.

"This won't do it, it's too tough!" Star heard his panicked voice clearly from the portal. Then, in an instant, it threw him from its back. She held in a breath as her squire was sent toppling across ground, in a manner, that without the armor, would have caused significant injury.

The beast turned to the other squires, volleys of arrows bouncing off of it uselessly. It barreled towards one, clamping it's massive jaws down on his leg,before tossing him aside like a rag doll. It's reptilian tail swing around from its legs.

"Oh sweet corn," Baby-Man exclaimed as he got he shield up just in time, as the spiked tail slammed into the posse, not that it mattered. The sheer force sent the mob of seven squires flying into the arena a wall in a way that made even Star flinch.

In the distance, Pony Head's excited bellowing could be heard. "Now, that's what I came to see! Bravo!"

She watched as a red haired squire, who she recognized as the girl from the Blowout Sale, Higgs, chucked an axe at it, to seemingly gain its attention. Sure enough, it focused it's piercing gaze on her, unleashing a torrent of green flame, that she barely managed to avoid, as she led it on a chase across the arena. Then, a tall, black haired boy Star had never seen before, but she assumed was Higgs's partner, swooped in from the sidelines, a rope it hand. He ran laps around the beast's great feet, wrapping the rope around on each pass. That is until, Marco tackled him.

"Kelly, they're trying to catch it off balance!"

The rope came undone and the dragon turned back around. The dark haired squire scrambled to his feet and rolled out of the way. Marco tried to do the same, but found himself limited by his heavy, clunky armor. The beast's massive foot was right over him, in a few seconds Marco would be a red hoodied pancake. Star felt like her heart was in her ears, panic taking over. No. He couldn't….

Suddenly, Kelly streaked by, on the back of a warnicorn, pulling a startled Marco on and out of harm's way. The brunette immediately wrapped his arms around her waist for security sake, flashing her a grateful and heartfelt smile.

"Thanks Kelly, you saved my six."

She met his gaze in the corner of her eye, smile soon forming. "Don't mention it. Now, how are we gonna bring this thing down?"

Star felt her stomach churn after watching the display between the two friends. They were holding their own, Marco hadn't been heart and neither had Kelly. So why did she still feel so uneasy? She hadn't seen Marco that happy in months. He'd sort of followed her down the path of preparing for the trial, without any complaining or anything, but he'd never looked truly happy all the while, not how he used to on their adventures. He seemed content more than anything, tending to her left and right. But now, he looked like he was having real, genuine **fun** , something he more than deserved? So why did it make her feel so strange to see him having it, with Kelly? Her heart sank, and her stomach filled with her namesake. Star had only felt like this once before, but that was when…

For a brief moment, Star recalled that all too familiar feeling. The castle walls broke down again, as the invasion of red began once more. Snapping out of it, she jumped backwards, as the portal disappeared suddenly, due to her lack of focus. She turned to Eclipsa, wide eyed, thousand yard stare written all over her face.

The queen of darkness had been munching on popcorn, silently watching the festivities, just as Star had. She clapped with glee. "Brilliant! Quite a show, wasn't it? I always enjoyed the Squire Games. See, everything's alright."

Star shook her head and returned to a more natural state, silently insulting herself for that moment of childish vulnerability. "Yeah, peachy. Peachy." Her sapphire gaze latched onto the window, much more solemn, than it had just been a moment ago. As if she wished she were somewhere else.

* * *

Marco looked back at the Wyvern, which was gaining, its size not slowing it in the slightest. "We're not getting through that hide, we need to knock it out." He glanced at the open metal door, back near the cave. "And I think I know just how."

Kelly seemed to catch his drift, because she smirked. "I'll distract it, you get the lever."

The boy nodded and jumped off the warnicorn, rolling over until stopping to get to his feet. He immediately ran over towards the lever system of ropes near the iron door, having an unblocked path, thanks to the distracted Wyvern, and almost all the other squires being out of commission.

Kelly continued to toss her seemingly endless array of knives and daggers at the beast to try and agitate it. Eventually, one of her shots drew luck, hitting the beast square in the left eye. It let out a roar of both pain and anger, swinging its tail at her, and dismounting her from the warnicorn, as she hit the ground with a thud. Rolling up, she bolted towards the door, her predator in tow. Being partially blind didn't slow it down very much either, apparently.

Suddenly, Kelly felt a leg grab her ankle and she was wrestled to the ground. Sure enough, it was Higgs, bruised and battered, but not out.

"What are you crazy!?" The long haired girl exclaimed, trying to get to her feet, before the beast came roaring back.

"I heard all about your little plan. If you think I'm gonna let you two win this, you've got another thing coming."

"I know what is coming! Look out!" The two girls jumped to the side, just in time to avoid the Wyvern's outstretched claws.

It payed them no mind, continuing to barrel forwards. Kelly once again, struggled to get up, instead decided to bellow to her partner. "It's coming Marco! Almost time!"

The boy in question, could see the large green lizard making its way quickly across the arena. This would take precision timing though, any slip up would throw everything off. Once satisfied with the distance, he pulled the lever down on one side, successful lowering it on the left side. Sprinting over to the right, he pushed downward, only to be met with resistance. "Not now! The stupid thing is stuck!"

He needed to think quickly. He had, 15 seconds? And that was at the most. And object glistening in the sun caught his attention. One of Kelly's daggers! He scooped it up quickly and was about to cut the rope, until suddenly he was lying in the dirt.

Xavier layed next to him, trying to wrestle the knife from his grip. The Wyvern was right on top of them now, it's pungent stench able to be smelt. Both boys got to their feet, refusing to let go of the knife's handle. Xavier slammed Marco into the side of the lever, just as the beast made it's approach, it swung it's tail, hitting Xavier square in the chest, sending the poor boy, flying. Marco, managed to duck, as the door finally game down on top of the Wyvern's head, almost comically knocking it unconscious.

As soon as Xavier hit the ground, Higgs was flying over to him, tears streaming down her face. "Xavier! No! No!" She cradled her partner, who showed no signs of moving, either knocked out or worse. Medics immediately rushed in, to get Xavier and all the other injured squires to the infirmary, though they literally had to pry the boy away from Higgs. That left, Kelly, Marco and Higgs as the three remaining competitors.

The crowd was in a combination of excitement, suspense for the harrowing battle they had just witnessed, and remorse for all the dreadful injuries that had just occurred. They stayed rather quiet out of respect, whispering amongst themselves for quite awhile. Even River seemed solemn when he tapped his staff on the ground, signaling his next announcement.

"It appears we have an unprecedented event in today's games. Technically, both Marco, Squire to Princess Star Butterfly, and Xavier, Squire to Sir Skarsguard, had a part to play in the circumstances that led to the defeat of the Wyvern, meaning we have a tie."

A collective gasp surrounded the crowd, as that had ,indeed, never happened before.

River cleared his throat, signaling for them to quiet down, so he could continue. "And since both teams have one win each, a tiebreaker is in order. A 1 on 1 duel! One weapon and shielded allowed for each contestant! If you yield, or unable to defend yourself, you lose!"

The crowd roared with renewed vigor after this announcement, anticipation already building at the prospect of a duel. The contest had already been thrilling so far, what a satisfying conclusion this would be.

Marco knew what he had to do from the moment the words left King River's mouth. Turning to his blue haired friend, he smirked a little. "Help me outta of this armor."

"What!? Marco have you lost it?"

"Just trust me. If I'm going out there, I'd rather do it my way. Take it off."

Hesitantly, she obeyed, undoing the straps enough where he could shake it off comfortably, watching as his only source of protection clamped against the hard ground. He tossed his helmet off as well, and when that was gone, the girl could see that he wasn't nearly as confident as he'd sounded a moment ago.

Kelly sighed, putting a hand on the human's shoulders. "Okay, spill. What's goin on?"

Marco turned to face her fully, uncertainty and fear swirling in his chocolate colored eyes. He let out a soft sigh, tuning out the noise and buzz of the arena. "So, during the contest, I made a wager with Higgs. If I win, she'll finally treat me as an equal, but if she wins, I have to give up being a squire."

Her eyes widened. "What!? Why would you do something like that?"

"I just want to be treated fairly! Like a real squire, not like Star handed me this job out of pity."

"Marco, Star's your...best friend, she gave you the job to have an excuse to hang out. She **likes** spending time with you ."

"That may be what it started as, but she's in deep now! All this stuff with Meteora is really dangerous! She needs someone strong enough to fight alongside her, and if I can't win a stupid tournament, that certainly isn't me, not anymore. I need to win this for-"

"Shut up. Stop it right now, Diaz," Kelly stated in a firm tone, full of venom.

Surprised by this, Marco did as he was told, not saying another word.

She grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently. "Look at me." Marco hadn't even realized he'd been staring at his shoes for most of the conversation and hesitantly brought his gaze to her's, brown and ebony. "I don't know where you got this notion that Star is the sole purpose of your life, but get rid of it, because it's not true. You don't need her, Marco."

He did a bit of a double take at what she said, and the force she said it with, though it probably wasn't meant the way it came out. "I-"

"Last time I checked, you got a red belt, lit a fire under those princesses at Saint Olga's, fought off almost a thousand rats, and hunted down friggin Hekapoo on your own! Was Star there? No. You did it. You did it for you. You know what's got you all messed up? You're trying to do everything for her. What about you Marco? Why can't you get a win for yourself? You're a war hero, a legend, and my best friend. You're the great Marco Diaz. And that's why you're going to win this, for Marco Diaz, not Star Butterfly."

He let the full force of her words hit him head on. She was right. He'd drive himself crazy trying to do everything for Star's benefit. He'd been doing that so much lately, he'd neglected himself, just as Eclipsa had warned. Well, that was it. He wasn't going to win for Star, he was going to win because Marco Diaz wanted to. "Thanks, I needed that." He rose to his feet, taking off his hoodie and fashioning it into the same type of cloak he wore when he was in Hekapoo's dimension, leaving him in his white t-shirt. He put the hood up, grabbing his trusty sword as well. Man, it really felt like he was 30 again.

"No problem. What are friends for? Dream Team?" She held out her fist, grin etched onto her features.

"Dream Team." He pounded her fist without hesitation, grin tugging at his own lips. The horn began blaring once more, signaling the start of the final challenge. Marco turned, walking away, more confident than he had been in a long time, though not before turning around and giving her one last smile. "I'm gonna bring it home for us, don't worry."

Kelly stared after after him for quite some time, with a dreamy, almost lovestruck look on her face. Her eyes were half lidded and she had the biggest grin on her lips. "I know you will."

As the squire made his seemingly endless walk to his opponent, things seemed to slow down. He could hear every individual conversation in the crowd. For once, he wasn't nervous. He felt twenty pounds lighter, as if he had been entrusted with the weight of the world, and was just relieved from that burden.

"Yo, Earth Turd!" Pony Head's bellowing distracted him from his mental psych up. He caught her eye in the crowd, as a devious smirk formed on her face. "Give her the horn." That expression went way back, and he couldn't help but chuckle as he continued forward.

Tom was next to offer his support. "Go make Mackie Hand proud Marco!" He even did a mock version if the actor's signature move, chuckling as Marco did the same.

After receiving his support, Marco finally reached the area where the battle would take place. Higgs stood across from him, still in full armor, murderous glare in her emerald green eyes. She looked like she wanted his head on a pike. Not even that was enough to shake his confidence, as he met her glare tenfold. They began circling each other, like animals of prey, waiting for their opening to pounce .

Like him, she had a metal shield in hand, though had the end of a mace in her other. "This is it, nerd. There is where I prove you don't belong once and for all."

"Bring it! I'm done taking this from you, I'm earning my rightful place!"

She did a spit take in mockery, chuckling heartily. "Rightful? Please, we both know you were handed the position because you're all buddy buddy with your princess. Without her, what are you? A boring, forgettable nerd from Earth, and even now, that's still all you are."

Rather than let her get under his skin, or lose his composure like before, Marco absorbed the venom from the words, deciding not to bite back. He let her taunts fuel him, as she voiced the very same self-doubt that had been building up inside him for months. This was it. This was where he'd prove her, and himself wrong for the very last time. "This one's for me," He spoke gallantly, a cocky smirk spreading across his lips. _This one's for Marco, just Marco._

It was Higgs who made the first attack, swinging her mace with ferocity. Marco barely had time to block the blow with his shield, though the force still sent him staggering. He silently thanked his decision on going with the metal shield. If that would have been a wooden one, there was no doubt it would have cracked, and Marco would have been decapitated. _She's not messing around_ , he thought to himself, as he readied himself for another assault.

She sprinted towards him, relentless, swinging again. He dug his heels into the dirt to try and stand his ground with the shield. The sound of metal on metal seemed to echo around the deathly silent arena, the crowd on the literal edge of their seats. Higgs wasted no time, drawing back and swinging yet again, twisting her hips to put more force into it. The resulting impact was enough to knock Marco onto his back, and send his shield sliding across the ground.

"Crap…" He rolled left as she brought the spiked ball down again ,where his chest would have been if he would have hesitated, even momentarily. Shaking off that close call, he was forced to move again, narrowly avoiding getting his head smashed in. Kelly flinched as she watched her partner repeatedly come close to getting his lights put out.

"You know…" Marco began as he continued to run, or more accurately, roll for his life. "Real knights don't tend to miss this much."

Higgs grunted as he managed to avoid her yet again. "They don't tend to run instead of fighting, either!" She brought it down, full-force.

Marco skillfully dodged, hopping up to his feet. He sidestepped to avoid the next attack, still biding his time. She had the advantage, range wise with the mace, and he'd have to find a way to make this a close quarters fight. Thinking quickly, he brought his foot under her's during the middle of her next swing, classic sweep kick. She lost balance, nearly toppling over right then and there, yet she managed to steady herself swinging again. Marco was ready this time though, his his foot to the inside of her's so that the spiked ball would hit the ground, just behind him. He took this opportunity to cut the steel chain that linked the rod to the ball ,with one clean strike from his blade. Higgs looked at her now useless weapon in shock.

Marco brought his sword right in front of her, gaze unwavering even in the face of what looked like victory. "Yield."

Higgs kept her eyes locked onto his. Though they didn't seem to hold any malice, no, there was some foreign emotion present in them. Something he didn't ever think he'd see from her. Defeat. She dropped the rod to the mace onto the ground, not moving as the sound of metal clanging against the ground seemed to echo around the arena.

He loosened his grip on his blade and relaxed his shoulders a bit, taking this as a sign of surrender. Which is where he made his first mistake.

In a flash, Higgs brought up her foot and struck his right hand, jarring the blade out. She followed up by slamming her shield into his chest. Then a kick to the head, knocking him on his back. He tried in vain to gather his bearings, dazed from the sudden assault.

She smirked as she stood over him. "You really are a naive idiot. Never lower your guard, first rule of combat." She kicked him again, sending him rolling across the dirt. "Now yield, I have….things to do."

Marco struggled to his feet, retrieving the shield at his feet. "Fat chance." Even if he had no weapon, he wasn't giving in. He was winning this thing, no matter what. Though he'd have to be careful, she had his sword now.

"Gotta hand it to you, nerd, you may suck, but you don't know when to give up." She charged towards him, blade out in front of her.

Marco got into his defensive karate stance, dragging his foot across the ground as he watched her approach. She may have had him beat in terms of savvy with armed combat, but he definitely had the advantage here, being red belt. He dropped the shield, completely unarming himself as she was a mere fifteen feet away.

Unsurprisingly, she tried to thrust her shield into him, yet this time, he was prepared, leaning to the right and sticking his leg out, sliding it under her's as he went forward. He struck her arm as well, knocking the sword upwards into the air, as she lost balance. He caught it by the hilt, just as she turned around, the point at her neck, inches away from would be a decisive blow.

Those was no mercy in his eyes this time,as his grip on the blade only tightened. Higgs could only stare at him, and then the ground, as a breathless gasp escaped her throat. Several seconds passed before she could manage to look back up at him, emerald eyes swirling with what looked like shame, before morphing into something else, acknowledgement. She simply nodded, not unlike Jackie used to, finally seeing him as a peer, as an equal. "I yield."

Marco removed the sword from her neck and gave a nod in response. All the tension and hostility between them was squashed for the moment, and they could finally move forward. It didn't necessarily mean they were going to be best friends, or even friends at all, but she wasn't an enemy, and Marco was glad of that.

The once silent audience erupted in cheers, their desire for an entertaining fight having been satisfied by the two combatants.

"Heck of a fight!"

"Solaria would be proud!"

"Eh, could have been more killing. Six outta ten."

Pony and Tom were among the loudest of the cheers, as they'd been rooting for their friend the whole way through.

"You did it Earth Turd! You actually don't stink at something for once! Still think you should have given her the horn at the end though! No mercy!"

" _Hand to Hand!?_ You the man Marco!"

Marco barely had the chance to crack a smile before he was almost tackled into a hug by Kelly.

"You did it! You did it! You did it! You did it! You did it!"

Marco gently hugged her back, before taking off the hood of his hoodie. " **We** did it," He corrected. "No way I would have hit that target or beat the Wyvern without you." A smirk slowly formed on his face as he held out a fist. "Dream Team?"

A similar expression enveloped her face. "Do you even have to ask?" She pounded it without hesitation, giggling lightly.

A royal fanfare suddenly interrupted the conversation. King River and the knights had come down from the royal box. Even the king seemed amped up on Marco's victory.

"Marco my boy, what a great battle that was! You remind me of a younger me!" Marco grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, due to the sudden attention. Kelly on the other hand, cleared her throat. "Oh! And Kelly as well what a great shot! Anyway, you both have proven yourselves worthy and deserving of the highest honor available to squires. Manfred, the medals!"

Manfred handed the king two glistening golden medals, encrusted with the Butterfly family crest. River put them around the duos neck, clearing his throat. "You are both now, Squires of the Body, meaning you have the right to bear arms and to go into battle with the Knights of Mewni! Ladies and gentlemen, Marco Diaz and Kelly Naoki, champions of this year's Squire Games!"

As the crowd roared with applause and whistles, Marco felt like it was too good to be true. This is what he'd imagined when River had proposed knighthood all those months ago, before he'd had his hopes dashed by that stupid meat blanket. This is what he'd expected when he became Star's squire. This was the acknowledgement he'd sought after since returning to Mewni. For the first time in months, Marco felt like he'd truly won. Stopping his train of thought suddenly, he scanned the area for Higgs, to congratulate her on her performance and offer his best wishes to Xavier, but she'd already slipped out, no doubt to go see him.

River once again cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "As is tradition, the Knights and friends of the combatants will have a feast to celebrate their victory. To the castle, men! This concludes the 667th annual Squire Games!"

* * *

Marco sat on the hill, overlooking the beautiful twin full moons of Mewni. He wasn't too far from Castle Butterfly, still able to hear the distant music from the royal band in the distance. The party was great and all, he just needed a moment to relish in his victory alone. Today had been about more than that though. It had reaffirmed his belief that he was strong enough to be here, strong enough to fight through what was ahead, whatever that may be. The medal was still around his neck,and he fidgeted with it, smiling, giddy.

"Feeling good about ourselves, are we?"

Marco turned around upon hearing the familiar voice of his blue haired friend, laughing softly,

She sat down next to him, on her knees, joining him at loo,in at the moons. "You should, you were amazing back there."

" **We** were amazing back there. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

She giggled. "Okay fiiiine."

"Glad we're on the same page. So how'd you find me?"

"Eh, little birdie told me you might me out here."

He raised an eyebrow. "Did that little birdie happen to be named Star?"

"Mayyybe. I think King River drank too much ale though, the party somehow devolved into rave. He's currently the DJ."

Marco groaned. "Againnn….?"

She giggled again. "Yeahhhh…."

"Thanks again, Kelly. For everything, agreeing to be my partner, saving me today, and helping me realize who I was. Without you, I probably would have- no I definitely would have quit." He spoke the words earnestly, his brown eyes conveying deep honestly and appreciation.

Kelly met his gaze, her eyes seeming to shine. She couldn't fight the small blush that rose up,dusting her cheeks. "A-Anytime."

There was a comfortable silence between the two friends, well, comfortable for Marco at least. Kelly seemed to be very nervous, fidgeted with her fingers and twirling a loose strand of her long hair. Though, her strange behavior went unnoticed by the boy, who's eyes were glued to the twinkling night sky. She debated fiercely with herself on the subject, as even a passing glance at Marco sent her stomach into knots, and her heart into overdrive. _Now or never. There's no better time than now_ , she figured.

"Marco, I need to tell you something…"

The boy in question tore his gaze away from the sky, gazing at his friend in curiosity. "What's up?"

Kelly took a deep breath, feeling like she was going to hyperventilate. Managing to control herself, she faced him semi confidently. "You've done so much for me too, these last couple months. When Tad and I broke up, I didn't know what to do, I didn't know who I was, but you were there for me, when no one else was, and you helped me find who I was too. Hanging out with you has been really fun and I guess-" She paused to take another deep breath. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I-I like you, a lot and maybe we can give "us" a shot?" She looked up, trying to gauge his reaction.

Marco's eyes were wide, an almost thousand yard stare etched on his face. Flashbacks to a couple days ago with Janna ensued, as the familiar feeling of shock, helplessness and guilt overcame him. Why did this keep happening? Kelly felt that way about him too? Was he just cursed not to notice these things? Sorrow overtook him as he realized what he had to do, not trying to lead her on in any way, while trying his best to preserve their friendship. Though, that would prove to be difficult to do, seeing as she'd just blindsided him with such a big truth.

Kelly sat, anxiously waiting for his response. With all the fidgeting she was doing, it seemed like she'd pull every inch of her long, blue hair out.

Marco took a deep breath to steady himself and his nerves, before preparing to reluctantly break his dear friend's heart. "K-Kelly…" His voice was shaky and uneven. "You're an amazing friend, you've done so much for me over these past few months, you're super fun to be around, but…."

Kelly seemed to be seeing where he was going with this, because tears began welling up in her eyes. "Marco, please! We bring out the best in each other! Don't you-Don't you see that!?"

The boy's own eyes began filling with tears as he shook his head solemnly. "We can't. I-I can't. You're amazing but…..I've already hurt someone by running from the truth once, I can't bring myself to do that again. Kelly, I'm sorry."

The dryad wasn't ready to give up, gripping his hand tightly. "N-no, don't do this. You mean to tell me you feel nothing!? No, we have something Marco, I know you feel it too!"

The boy just shook his head again, feeling more small in that moment than he ever had. She was making this very difficult, for the both of them. "I'm sorry, I just don't. I can't lie to you, or lie to m-myself. I can't string you along on something that isn't real. I think we both know why-"

"How many more times does she have to hurt you before it's enough!?" Kelly felt herself growing frustrated as the tears began falling like rain . "How many more times does she need to play with your heart, blow up your life, or shatter it into a million pieces before you have enough!? It isn't healthy Marco! Chasing after her, it's ruining you, she's holding you in place!" She was growing more and more desperate. "You don't need her Marco, just like I don't need Tad!"

While the way she talked about Star was jarring, a small part of him couldn't help but agree with her. He'd lost so much for Star, over the last few months alone. His family and friends back on Earth, Jackie, his fame as Princess Turdina, his time, having to cater to her every whim and need. He'd be lying if deep down, a part of him didn't want to be free, for Star to be free from his heart. If a part of him didn't want to take Kelly up on this, just to get Star off his mind. But what would be wrong. That would be Jackie all over again, but worse because he would be conscious of what he was doing this time. He couldn't do that to her, or to himself. "I know, I'm letting myself get hurt, but I'm willing to. I can't Kelly, I just can't. You deserve better than that. You deserve someone who could put all their heart into a relationship, and that's not me. But, I'd give anything to stay your friend."

Kelly didn't respond, having seemed to have given up. The tears never stopped as she let go of his hand and turned away from him, hiding her face, not being able to meet his gaze. She honestly didn't know what she expected, but needles to say her reality was crushed. Crushed. How ironic.

"Kelly, please. I don't want this to come between us, I still think of you as my friend. You've helped me so much, let me return the favor…." His voice had its own desperate edge now, as he was true frantically to hold on to one of his most important friendships. "We can get through this, we can do anything. Remember? Dream Team?" He grinned and held out his fist hopefully, trying to shake the lost look out of his eyes.

She turned to face him, looking conflicted for a brief moment. Like she wanted to be by his side more than anything, no matter what way that meant. Nevertheless, she looked down at the ground, not being able to stand looking into those earnest brown eyes for long. "I'm s-sorry, I just can't handle that right now." She stood up and began to walk away, towards the bottom of the hill.

Marco reached for her desperately. "Kelly-"

She turned back to him, still teary eyed. "Take care of yourself, Marco Diaz. Pull away, pull away before it's too late. I hope-everything works out." With that, she started down the hill, the opposite way from the castle, disappearing into the dim glow of the night.

Marco watched her until he disappeared from view, the tears falling at a slow steady, pace. For the second time, he'd watched someone important to his life, leave it. The shoulder he'd leaned on the last couple months, his sparring partner, adventure buddy. One of the few people who'd felt like a true friend consistently since he'd returned to Mewni, gone. Of course. Just when he felt like he'd won, life had to knock him down a peg and remind him who he was. Even when did win, he lost too. There was no such things as entirely good luck for him anymore. Something else added to the list of things he'd given up to his heart. Yet another balloon, lost to the Red String of Fate.

"Yo, Marco, you out here man?" Tom's familiar voice snapped him out of his inner pity party,

He quickly wiped his tears, trying his best to put on a positive facade, something he'd become an expert at these last couple months. "Uhhh, yeah, just need some air."

Tom nodded in understanding, stopping just behind him. "Starship's looking for you, she just got here, wants to congratulate you. Wait, where's Kelly?"

"Tired, went home. I'll, be right there."

Tom turned on his heel and walked back towards the castle, Marco soon in tow after taking a deep breath and fixing his expression, preparing himself to dine amongst his friends.

* * *

 **Next Episode**

 **Episode 18A: Lord Ludo- After "finding himself" in the void, Ludo returns with plans for Star and Marco.**


End file.
